Payback
by Questfan
Summary: A simple act of kindness may have far reaching consequences for Hutch. In fact, it may be the thing that saves his life. When he goes missing it's up to Starsky to put the pieces together, but can he do it in time?
1. Chapter 1

**No I don't own anything except my random thoughts.**

**I have never written in this genre before but I have been watching old reruns and this story just will not go away. I hope I get the characters right but feel free to give constructive feedback. My life is insanely busy but I hope to post this as often as possible. I always finish what I start; mainly because once a plot bunny bites it chews my ankles until I'm done. I hope you enjoy.**

**Payback**

Hutch stared at the wall across from him and tried to keep a neutral expression on his face. Standing in the foyer of the precinct and allowing his emotions to show just wasn't a good idea at the moment. If he truly let anyone see what was going on in his head he probably would have scared everyone away.

Starsky had gone back upstairs to take a phone call and left Hutch waiting for him in the foyer. He felt like pacing but instead he balled his fists up inside his jacket pockets and then forced himself to unclench them.

Dobey had just finished briefing him and his partner about something that just made his blood boil. He figured that he must be a pretty simple guy because it seemed obvious to him that the cops were supposed to be the good guys. And the good guys went out and caught the bad guys. Except now it seemed that the simple line had blurred because they were the good guys and they were going after fellow cops. Someone was dirty and it had been dropped on them to find out who that someone was.

A chilly gust blew in off the street as the door pushed open. Hutch watched in amusement as Benson dragged a scruffy looking kid in through the door. The young officer had only been on the beat for four months. He was certainly conscientious and maybe a little over zealous. The older detective watched as the kid struggled to pull away from the tight grip on her arm and he winced in sympathy as a foot shot out and kicked the young newbie in the shins.

Benson yelped in surprise and loosed his grip just enough for the kid to twist away from him and attempt to make a run for it. She looked towards the door and made a split second decision to try to reach it but skidded to a halt as Hutch stepped sideways and into her path. She glared at him before trying to bolt around him. Two strong arms grabbed her in a bear hug and she tried to twist away from them. Having seen her do it once already Hutch was prepared for the attempted kick in the shins and he lifted her off the ground before the foot could connect.

"Put me down! This is police brutality!" the girl screamed out to anybody who would pay attention. Her legs swung harmlessly in the air but her captor showed no sign of putting her down.

"Stop kicking and I will put you down." There was no sign that she had heard him so Hutch continued to speak quietly into her ear. The calm voice eventually seemed to work as the girl's legs stopped swinging. Hutch set her down on her feet and slowly unwrapped his arms. Benson was standing beside her and grabbed her right arm before she could think of escaping again.

"Thanks Detective." Benson looked a little sheepish as he retrieved his charge and steered her towards the back of the station. She glanced back over her shoulder and glared at the man who stood watching her depart. He noted the threadbare jeans and tatty shirt; the unkempt hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. The girl's arms seemed thinner than they should have been. As she tried to wriggle out of Benson's firm grasp her shirt rode up at the back and revealed an ugly bruise. He wondered why she was wearing a short-sleeved shirt given how cold it was outside. The girl turned back to see where the officer was leading her and Hutch felt compelled to follow them. He couldn't define what it was but he was curious about who this kid was and why she was there in his station.

He trailed behind them into the detention area and saw Benson park the girl on a chair. She wrapped her arms around herself and dropped her chin onto her chest. She didn't seem to notice him as he walked over to the younger officer and inquired what the charge was.

"She tried to rip off a deli down on Fourth. The owner caught her stuffing things under her shirt. She tried to cut and run when she saw me but I got her."

Hutch noted the man's pride but quickly dismissed it. After all it wasn't that hard to run down a scrawny kid. He suddenly realised what it was about her that was tugging at him. Her eyes looked too big for her face. She wasn't just scrawny. She was malnourished. Add that to a flimsy shirt on a cold day and he began to wonder just where she came from and who was taking care of her.

Benson continued to fill out his paperwork while Hutch slipped off down the hall. When he returned he was carrying a salad roll and a juice. The girl was still hunched over and seemed to be ignoring the world around her when he sat down beside her. She flinched and pulled away before registering who it was and then she plastered a sneer across her face.

"Wadda you want?" she glared at him.

"I thought you might be hungry." He offered the food and drink but she continued to glare at him.

"What? Do I look like some kinda charity case?" she demanded.

Hutch continued to hold out the offering and he noted that her glare wavered slightly. She seemed torn between keeping up the appearance of anger and taking the food. Finally his suspicion was proven right when she grabbed at the roll and ripped open the wrapping. Once she caught the smell of fresh bread she wolfed down chunks of the roll. He was surprised when she got half way through and suddenly stopped. She caught up the edge of the wrapping and carefully re-wrapped the roll. He glanced at her but said nothing.

"It's for … it's for later!" she insisted.

"No problem."

Hutch looked up as Benson came over towards them. The younger officer looked unsure of what he should do. After all, it wasn't normal for a detective to stoop to interviewing a street punk who had swiped a few things from a corner store.

"Ah, you got a name, kid?"

The girl glared at him. "Yeah."

"Well you wanna let us in on what it is?"

"Not really!"

Hutch tried not to smile as he could read the uncertainty on the younger officer's face.

"Maybe I should leave you to it, Benson." He rose from the seat and stood next to the other man. Maybe having two of them standing over her would be enough to rattle a name out of the kid. She glared at the floor but refused to answer.

"Come on kid. You gotta tell me sooner or later."

The girl clamped her mouth shut and glared at him. Hutch watched as her eyes betrayed her bravado. She wasn't as tough as she would have liked them to believe. In actual fact her eyes were beginning to water and she dropped them back to the floor.

"OK then. Have it your way." Benson reached out a hand to grab the girl's arm and she shot out a foot that connected with his shin again. He hopped back in surprise and she jumped to her feet and shoved him towards Hutch before throwing the bottle at his head. Before either man could reach her she had bolted past them and was running towards the front door.

Hutch tried to quickly disentangle himself from Benson and turned to run after the fugitive. He heard, rather than saw the other officer fumbling after him as he dashed out into the street. He looked both ways up and down the sidewalk and across the road but there was no sign of the kid.

"Damn but she's fast!" he muttered to himself. He turned back to see Benson shaking his head. He slapped the younger man on the shoulder and turned him back towards the precinct door.

"C'mon. Let's see if we can find you something more your pace." Hutch grinned and ignored the dirty glare he received. He felt a pang of sympathy as he knew the young man was going to be the subject of much ridicule from his peers for quite some time.

Across the street a young girl crouched behind a stack of crates and watched the two men walk back inside the warm station. She shivered as she ran her hands up and down her arms. The roll that was stuffed inside her shirt reminded her that she needed to get going. Jess was waiting for her. It was a shame about the juice but at least tonight her sister would get to eat dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thankyou for the kind reviews. I always appreciate them.**

**Chapter Two**

It was nearly dark by the time the girl scrambled up the embankment and pulled back the rusted cover to the old stormwater drain. It had been a long time since water had flowed through the concrete pipe but nobody had seen fit to finish removing it. Weeds and debris had piled up at the entrance which helped to conceal their makeshift home.

She rapped four times on the rusty metal and heard the echo travel down through the tunnel. Her sister would know not to panic when she heard movement.

It was another minute before she saw the soft glow of light dancing off the tunnel walls and quickly rounded the bend to see her younger sister sitting hunched over beside a meagre candle. Nikki's heart caught in her mouth as she saw her sister's dirt-smudged face. It wasn't the first time she had doubted her choice to run but the doubt was quickly overwhelmed by ugly memories. Yes, she had to save her baby sister.

"Here you go. Gourmet supper is served!" With a flourish she pulled the half eaten roll from under her shirt and made a show of bowing before handing the precious food to her sister.

Jess reached out and snatched the roll and made short work of unwrapping it and starting to wolf it down. Nikki sat down beside her and waited until every last crumb of the roll was gone.

"Where did you get this? It's really good!"

Nikki shrugged her shoulders and frowned. "Some cop thought he would play nice." The word "nice" came out sounding anything _but_ nice. Jess picked up on the tone and looked up fearfully.

"Like …. like Michael?" she whispered.

Nikki put an arm around her sister and hugged her. While she hadn't wanted to acknowledge it at the time this cop hadn't been at all like Michael. "No Honey. Not like Michael."

She squeezed her sister a little tighter.

* * *

><p>Starsky slammed the folder shut and hefted it across the desk towards the growing pile. His partner looked up at the noise but didn't say anything. He understood the frustration because he felt exactly the same way.<p>

"How many dead ends are we gonna run into? This is ridiculous!" Hutch watched as Starsky pushed the chair away from the desk and stood up.

"Maybe we need to clear our heads," he suggested.

"Waddaya got in mind?"

"Well … we've got a pile of scraps here. Bits of information that don't fit together. Yet!"

Starsky nodded vigorously. "Yeah! So how do we connect the dots?"

Hutch reached into the top drawer and pulled out the keys to the Torino. "We get outta here for starters. We do our best thinking out there."

He pointed to the far wall but Starsky knew what he meant. Being cooped up at a desk wasn't how either of them worked best. Police work required attention to detail and it was often in the little details that criminals got tripped up. But a large part of it was also tied up in a detective's gut instinct. The ability to make connections that others missed and then chase up the proof.

As Hutch flung the keys towards his partner they were already operating on the same wavelength. Get out of the precinct and start to bounce their pieces of info off each other. Somehow in the banter the jigsaw would start to come together. At least that was how it usually worked.

What neither of them would give voice to was the fact that they were no longer comfortable in their own house. The more they had dug up over the last week, the more the finger pointed to their own station. Somebody was helping smooth the way for drugs to flow into Bay City and it was looking more and more like dirty cops were behind it.

The two of them hurried down the stairs and were almost out to the exit when Hutch noticed the new kid, Benson, coming through the door with his partner. He smiled at the young man and got a half smile in return. It seemed that the kid was still embarrassed at his failure from the week before.

He wanted to make a good impression on his superiors when he left the academy and so far it seemed to be going to plan reasonably well. Until last week when he screwed up in front of one of the precinct's favourite sons. He decided to try to salvage it by showing how conscientiously he had followed up.

"Ahh Detective," he called out as the two men passed him by. They both turned to look at him and he faltered slightly. "Um, Detective Hutchinson."

"I told you already, the name's Hutch."

"Ahh, sure! Well, um anyway. I got the story on that girl from last week. She's a runaway from the north side of the bay. She took off over three weeks ago with her kid sister. Her mother's engaged to a cop so there's been a real push to find them."

"Well we do take care of our own." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Hutch found himself questioning them. If some cop was doing such a great job of taking care of his own, why were they out on the streets? And why did that kid have a massive bruise across her back? He frowned at the thought but remembered where he was headed.

"Well I'll keep an eye out for her Benson but right now we've gotta go." He turned back towards the door and followed his partner out to the garage. As he climbed into Starsky's beloved Torino he couldn't shake the strange nagging thought that followed him.

As they pulled out into the flow of traffic and began to discuss their respective insights all thoughts of a scruffy kid were pushed aside. Runaways weren't their patch and somebody else would find her soon enough. Especially if her robbery skills were anything to go by!

"OK we know that it's comin' in by boat. That means either the river or the port."

Hutch nodded in agreement at his partner's assessment. It wasn't long before the two detectives found themselves heading out towards the docks area again. So far surveillance hadn't turned up any useful leads but they were narrowing down options by ruling out various places. It was the slower way to get to a point but in the absence of leads it was the only way.

"Hey, ahh, don't look now but I think we got us a tail." Starsky had picked up the vehicle following them some time back but wanted to see if his partner had noticed.

"Black van? Broken front light?"

"That's the one. Seen it back before the exit and wondered but it turned off with us."

"Waddaya want to do about it?"

"Well we can't keep going to the docks. Don't want to tip them off."

Hutch nodded in agreement. "I guess we make a stop somewhere and see if we throw them."

Starksy pulled in just in front of a rundown coffee shop and the two of them walked inside and ordered. The black van drove past them and disappeared out of sight.

By the time they pulled out again it wasn't long before the van showed up again in the rear-view mirror.

Starsky slapped his hand on the steering wheel. "Well that idea's a bust! Can't go anywhere near the docks now without giving up the game."

"It's not entirely a bust Starsk. I got a make and licence plate to run down."

"Great! Time to go home boys and girls!" He swung the Torino into the far lane and turned back towards the station. So far this day had been a total waste of time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_The force of the backhander caused his head to snap back and he could see stars spinning violently in the dark. The blindfold across his face blocked out the external view but it did nothing to protect him from the internal flashes of light caused by the repeated blows to his head. He wondered how much more of this he could take._

_The voices swirled around him and he could no longer make out most of the words. The tone was unmistakable though. Malevolent and focused on causing him as much pain as possible._

"_Starsky!" The name he wanted to scream would not come out. No matter how much he mouthed it there was no sound. His throat felt like sandpaper. He kicked out again against his tormentors and heard another malicious laugh._

"_He ain't comin'!" A cruel whisper breathed in his ear._

"_He doesn't know where you are."_

_He knew his partner would be looking for him but that didn't stop the despair that was slowly seeping into his soul. _

_Somewhere in the distance he heard a siren. Starsky was coming! _

The alarm clock rang out its shrill wake up call and Hutch was jolted violently out of the nightmare. He grabbed at his left arm and held it up to his face. As he frantically ran his right hand back and forth over the crook of his elbow he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. It took a moment to register the smooth skin and he dropped his arm across his chest.

No tracks.

Nothing to show the hell he had endured.

The freshness of the nightmare meant he was still breathing raggedly and he forced himself to slow his breathing down.

"_He ain't comin'!"_

The words whispered across his mind and he flinched. It was over. Starksy _had _come and found him and brought him back to sanity. His friend had dragged him through the withdrawal even when he just wanted to curl up and die.

He scrubbed a hand across his face and realised he was soaked in sweat. The bedsheets were tangled around his legs and he quickly wrenched them off. The feeling of being restrained was causing his heart rate to rise again and he all but launched himself off the bed.

As he stumbled towards the bathroom he vaguely wondered what had triggered the nightmare. It had been months since he had last dreamed of this scenario and yet for the last four nights he had endured the same nightmare again and again. He thought he had put it behind him and his tormented mind was healed but now it seemed that it was rearing its ugly head again.

The hot water of the shower flowed down his back and he tried to relax the muscles. His whole body was wound tight and he stood under the water for twenty minutes, just allowing it to sooth away the tension.

By the time Starksy rolled in to pick him up Hutch thought he had pulled himself together. But his partner knew better. Something was bothering the big blonde and he was determined to find out what it was.

"Earth to Hutch." Starksy did his best impression of radio static and glanced across at his friend.

No reaction.

"Calling Mars! Anybody at home there?"

When he still got no reaction he pulled over to the nearest curb. That finally got Hutch's attention.

"What?"

"What yourself! I'm talkin' to ya but nobody's home!"

Hutch looked at his partner in confusion and shook his head. "Sorry. Didn't sleep too well. I guess I'm just tired."

Starsky was about to make a joke about not sleeping because he was busy doing other things but one look at his partner's face made him clamp his mouth shut. This wasn't the time for jokes.

Hutch waved an arm towards the road. "We need to get going. Dobey's waiting for us."

"He can wait five more minutes. What's goin' on?"

Hutch refused to look at him and insisted that they needed to get going. "Nothing! Just tired."

Starsky reluctantly put the car in gear and pulled back out onto the road. He kept his eyes on the road ahead but noticed out of the corner of his eye that Hutch kept absently rubbing his right hand up and down his left arm.

"_Just tired! Like hell!" _ He didn't say anything further but was determined this conversation wasn't over yet.

For his part Hutch was equally determined that the torment of last night was not going to impact any further on this day. He had work to do and wasn't going to be sidetracked by a crazy dream.

The radio crackled to life. "All units, we have another John Doe in the alley off Twelfth and Main."

Starksy looked across at his partner as he radioed back. "Zebra Three responding."

They were only minutes away from the address and it wasn't long before they found themselves standing in a back alley looking at another dead junkie. Someone had found the kid when they walked out the back to dump last night's trash. A small crowd had gathered at the far end of the alley but the uniforms were doing a good job of keeping their curiosity at bay.

The coroner's wagon wasn't too far behind them and unfortunately it was a very efficient process to load the body and whisk it away for post mortem. It had been done too many times before.

"How many does that make now?" The uniformed officer stepped back to allow the vehicle to pull out and Hutch just shook his head.

"Too damn many!" The kid on the gurney couldn't have been more than 16. He subconsciously rubbed at his left arm.

The two detectives set off to speak to possible witnesses but it seemed that nobody other than the unfortunate shopkeeper knew anything about the body. At least nobody seemed to recognise the kid.

Someone commented that it was good riddance to bad rubbish and Hutch whirled back towards them. The fury on his face was unmistakable and he grabbed the bystander by the shirt front.

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" he growled.

The man began to pull back and it was only Starsky's firm hand on Hutch's shoulder that made him let go. The man stumbled back and quickly walked away from the alley. He looked back to make sure the detective wasn't coming after him and once he was out of sight he bolted.

"I think we're done here. Waddaya say we leave this to the others?" It wasn't really a question as Starsky prodded his partner back towards the Torino.

Hutch climbed into the passenger seat without saying a word. He rubbed at his arm before turning to stare out the window.

"Nobody came after him."

The words were barely a whisper.

"Huh?" Starsky looked across at his partner and didn't like what he saw. "Hutch?"

"Nothin!"

Oh yeah. This conversation definitely wasn't over yet!

The ride to the station seemed to take forever and Starsky realised they had never driven so far in silence before. If his partner wasn't going to talk to him on the job then he damn well was going to talk to him when they were done for the day.

Hutch stared out the window without really seeing the passing traffic. All he could think about was how many junkies had turned up dead in the last couple of weeks and wondered how many cops were involved. He knew they weren't personally plunging any syringes into anybody's arms but someone was helping the heroin flow in. And that made them just as guilty in his book.

He shuddered to think that cops could have any involvement in anything so insidious as the drug trade. That was supposed to be the domain of the bad guys. Not cops. He closed his eyes and tried to squeeze out the images that came unbidden. The syringes that Forest had lined up for him seemed to taunt him. He scratched at his arm and shook his head as if he could dislodge the memory.

He opened his eyes and was stunned to realise the car was stationary. His partner was staring intently at him.

"Spill!"

"What?"

"Whatever the hell is going on with you today! Spill it! NOW!"

Hutch opened his mouth to speak and quickly closed it again.

"And cut the crap about just bein' tired!"

Starsky could be like a dog at a bone when he wanted to and Hutch knew this was one of those times his partner was not going to let it go.

"Nobody came after that kid." The words were just above a whisper but Starsky caught them anyway. He wasn't entirely sure what they meant so he waited.

Hutch turned to look at him with stricken eyes. "Nobody came after him! That could have been me!"

Starsky quickly shook his head. "No way! That was never gonna happen to you!" He thought back to the day he found his partner strung out in a back alley and shuddered.

"Only because you came looking for me. Nobody came looking for that kid."

Starsky was grasping for something to say when Hutch continued on. "I've been dreaming about Forest. More like nightmares really."

"_Well that explains the lack of sleep!"_

"Each time they keep telling me that you aren't coming. That you don't know where I am."

He looked towards his friend and swallowed hard. "We've pulled eight dead junkies off the streets in the last coupla weeks. That could have been me! If you hadn'ta come after me."

Starksy reached across and grabbed his friend by the forearm. "The only thing that woulda stopped me looking for you would be if I was dead!" He gripped Hutch's arm tighter and he felt the tension quivering through the muscle underneath his fingers.

"You got that?"

"Yeah."

"Then waddaya say we find the bastards who are doing this and stop them?"

"Yeah!" Hutch nodded vigorously. The remnant of the nightmares still gathered at the edges of his mind but he forced them aside to focus on the job.

Find the bastards!

Stop them!

And just maybe that would stop the nightmares.


	4. Chapter 4

**Please be warned this chapter involves a sensitive topic that I have only alluded to so far. I have deliberately chosen not to be too graphic but just thought I should warn you.**

** Thankyou to everyone for your kind reviews. And yes Brook5, I guess I'm a Hutch girl!  
><strong>

**Chapter Four**

Long after blowing out the candle Nikki lay in the darkness and hugged her sister. Somehow Jess had already drifted off to sleep and she could hear her rhythmic breathing.

"You could sleep through an earthquake!" she whispered over the top of her sister's head. It amazed her at how easily her baby sister could fall asleep in their dump of a home almost every night.

She, on the other hand, would lie awake well into the night. She chose not to analyse that too closely and told herself she was just being protective. She had never been afraid of the dark. At least not until Michael moved into their home. A shudder ran through the length of her spine and she hugged her sister a little closer.

Her stomach let out a dull rumble and she pulled the edge of the frayed blanket up a little higher. If she couldn't eat anything substantial to allay her hunger then at least she could be warm. Well as warm as she could be under a threadbare piece of dirty fabric that had once been a blanket.

Nikki felt warm tears beginning to run down her cheeks and she screwed her eyes shut. "God, what a mess!"

She tried to stifle her sobs and managed to keep quiet enough that she didn't wake her sister. Not that it made any difference to her rising state of distress. They had been gone from home for a month. In that time she had found them somewhere to "camp" as Jess called it, stolen some bedding from a local charity drop and managed to beg or steal something for them to eat every day. Well at least enough for Jess to eat every day. She had lost count of how many times she had told her sister she had already eaten when there wasn't enough to share. The river sufficed as a bathroom where they could wash under the cover of darkness but they both still looked decidedly grimy and she knew it would soon be time to try getting some more clothes from somewhere.

Now the weather was getting colder and she had no idea what to do next. They couldn't stay hidden inside a drainpipe indefinitely and there was no way she could take them home. Her mother had called her a liar and Michael had … well Michael had weaselled his way in somehow. Because everyone knew that cops were the good guys and her mother had taken his word over her own daughter. She had said something about a spoilt, jealous teen wanting her mother to herself, behaving like a child and making up stories. Nasty stories.

The tears began to flow afresh as she recalled the last time she had seen her home and knew she would never see it again.

It had been a windy night. Their mother was out at a PTA meeting and not due home for another hour. As Nikki sat in her bedroom listening to records she had a feeling of someone watching her. The wind was blowing the tree branches against her window and she got up to close the blinds. Her skin was crawling and she immediately knew that Michael was behind her before she had even turned around.

She whirled around to face him and smelt the beer on his breath, even from half way across the room.

"_What does Mom see in you?" _she wondered, not for the first time.

"Hey Sweetie, watcha doin'?"

"Don't call me Sweetie! My name is Nikki!"

"Oh come on. Just bein' friendly. What's wrong with that?"

"_You mean besides you being my mother's fiancé?"_

"Just leave me alone! You might have my mother fooled but you don't fool me!"

Michael had taken a few steps across the room towards her and Nikki had backed further away. She was almost against the wall before she realised.

"You know, this could be fun. If you let it be."

Nikki tried to sidestep the groping hands that were coming for her but nearly tripped against something on the floor. She heard a sharp snap as a record gave way under her foot. The noise was enough to distract her pursuer for a moment and she ducked under his reach. She ran towards the stairs and was half way down before she realised Michael wasn't following her.

Her heart froze in her chest as her mind registered the sounds coming from the landing. He wasn't coming after her because he was heading for Jess's room. She reacted without thinking and turned to sprint back up the stairs. As she reached the top she could see Michael leaning in the doorway and a sour smell of beer wafted across towards her.

"Well if you ain't gonna play, maybe Babycakes here will."

Nikki screamed and lunged towards the monster standing over her sister. Michael turned towards her and managed to deflect her assault and slam her against the door. Her small frame was no match for his more athletic build and she struggled in his grasp.

Nikki lay in the dark and tried to quell the rising panic. She didn't want to rehash the night she decided to run but the memories were overwhelming. The sound of her screaming had woken Jess and the terrified girl had sobbed as her sister was physically slammed against the wall several more times. Each time the duo moved closer and closer to the stairs.

Finally Michael had slipped on the top stair and taken Nikki tumbling with him. As they hit the floor below Jess had stood at the top of the stairs and screamed. When Nikki got up and Michael didn't it was then that she saw her chance to escape. It wasn't a planned escape and now she kicked herself for all the things she _hadn't_ thought to grab on their way out. Not that her mind had been registering much beyond a primal instinct to run. Fight or flight. Well she had tried to fight and now the only choice was flight.

Slinking out through the front door and into the darkness Nikki tried to ignore the last question her sister had whispered to her.

"Is he dead?"

_I hope so!_

_God I hope not!_

_He can't be!_

_Is he?_

_Nobody will believe me over him._

_Where are we gonna go now?_

* * *

><p>Hutch walked down the stairwell repeatedly whistling a snippet of some tune he had picked up on the radio that morning. He couldn't remember any of the words, hence the whistling but it was a tune that he couldn't get out of his head. If Starsky had been with him he would have cracked a joke about a stuck record but Starsky wasn't there so he kept on whistling.<p>

Hutch smiled to himself as he recalled Starksy's parting shot as he hurried out of the locker room. Apparently a heavenly body had fallen to Earth and his partner had been the official appointee to make first contact.

"Have fun buddy," he commented to nobody in particular as he crossed the parking garage to his car. He pulled his jacket a little closer to his chest and realised the temperature had dropped significantly since the afternoon. Winter was on its way.

He pulled out onto the road and started to head towards home. He hadn't decided if he wanted to pick something up for dinner or make do with whatever was in the fridge. While he was busy debating with himself he almost missed the first road detour sign. He slowed down and looked ahead to see that the road further up was closed. The city was doing some maintenance work overnight and his usual route home was closed. He swung over into the merged lane and turned off down a side street. It wasn't long before he found himself heading out on the long road that curved around the bay.

The stretch of docks that was lit up and busy soon gave way to another stretch of derelict buildings. The Port Authority was in the process of tearing down and replacing the well used but worn out warehouses but it was a long way from finished.

He would have continued on down the port road but something caught his eye. For a worksite that was unsafe and sealed off there shouldn't have been anyone in there, especially at night. So why were there lights?


	5. Chapter 5

**Thankyou again for everyone who takes time to review. It's much appreciated.  
><strong>

**I guess we are about to find out what the boyscout is up to! And I'm guessing he'll wish he took another detour.**

**Chapter Five**

The car coasted down the narrow alleyway and Hutch strained to make out obstacles in the dark. He had turned off the headlights and now cut the engine as he tried to get closer to the mysterious lights without giving himself away. Finally he stopped the car alongside the back end of a derelict warehouse.

He climbed out and silently made his way along the concealed side of the building until he neared the far corner. He could hear the sounds of an engine and quickly registered that it was a marine engine. There was a boat pulled in alongside the dock.

He waited a few seconds to check that nobody was nearby and slowly he eased out around the corner towards the sounds. He hugged the wall to stay in the shadows and inched closer to the voices he could hear. Someone was barking out orders to get unloaded as quickly as possible.

Hutch crouched down and chanced a look around the corner to see who was unloading what. He had a fair idea already and was suddenly wishing his partner was behind him instead of out on the town. He could make out four men from his hiding place. Two were unloading crates from a speedboat that was pulled in alongside the dock. The other two were loading them into a black van. As the last crate came off and landed on the wooden decking one of the men revved the throttle of the launch while the other walked over to his right.

It was then that Hutch noticed there was another vehicle parked there that he hadn't seen earlier. Behind the black van was a patrol car. He could see the front of the van and one of the lights was smashed. After being tailed by the van earlier in the week he had run it's licence only to find it was listed as stolen. No surprises there! What made his gut churn was the black and white. Dirty cops left mud all over the place and tainted the whole force.

He realised there was another man sitting in the police car and he edged closer to see if he could make out a face. Suddenly someone gunned the speedboat and it pulled away from the dock. He did a quick headcount and could only make out one in the car, another man walking hastily back towards the car and someone climbing into the van. He assumed that two of them had left by boat.

Whoever was sitting in the car started the engine and the second man opened the passenger door to get in. As he did so the interior light flickered on and Hutch got a glimpse of the two officers. He felt sick to his stomach when he realised their suspicions had just been confirmed. Two officers from his precinct were about to drive off in a car along with a van full of crates of what he presumed was heroin.

He automatically checked his weapon and debated what to do. While every fibre of his being screamed at him to stop them, his better judgement kicked in. He was alone and outnumbered. Better to get the details back to Dobey and make a bust with his partner in tow. It still went against the grain to allow them to just drive away. He began to ease backwards into the shadows but was suddenly pulled up short by the feel of cold steel against the back of his head.

"Stand up slowly," the voice growled in his ear. "And put ya hands where I can see them."

Hutch slowly stood up and raised both hands in the air. The muzzle against his head moved in synch with him and he had no doubt whoever was wielding it would not hesitate to use it.

_Dumb rookie mistake Hutchinson! _

His mind was running frantically and he realised, too late, that he had assumed incorrectly. Only one of the goons had taken the boat or else there was another player that he hadn't seen. Either way he was now in trouble. And nobody even knew where he was.

"Move!"

Hutch felt himself prodded forward but the gun never waivered from the back of his head. As they rounded the corner of the warehouse he saw that the squad car's motor was running but he didn't think that either of the two officers were yet looking his way. He made a split-second decision and figured he had nothing to lose. Whoever was behind him couldn't see in the moonlight any better than he could.

He stumbled slightly as though he had lost his footing. It was enough of a distraction that he managed to grab his captor's leg and pull him down. The man landed hard but quickly recovered and scrambled to get up. Hutch was on his feet already and kicked out at whatever he could connect with. He was satisfied with a grunt of pain before he took off running back around the far side of the building.

Shouts rang out behind him and he knew he only had moments to make it back to his car and get the hell outta Dodge. A couple of shots pinged off the walls behind him but he kept running. He managed to get to the far end of the wall and raced around the corner only to come to a skidding halt. One of the other goons obviously had some brains about him because he had bolted around the opposite side of the warehouse and was now taking up a firing stance only twenty feet away.

Hutch tried to sidestep the shot but was a fraction too slow in his reaction. He felt a punch in the guts but the adrenaline coursing through his veins masked the impact. He glanced down at himself and was stunned to see a dark patch blooming across his stomach. Before he could fully react another shot whistled past his ear. He moved on instinct and threw himself across the open space and rolled several times. He fumbled to pull out his sidearm and found that his senses seemed a little off. Another bullet ricocheted off the ground to his right and he felt like he was being toyed with. If it hadn't have been dark he knew he'd be dead already.

The smell of salt and rotting fish wafted up to him. He groped around him and found he was near the edge of the dock. There was no way he could make it back to his car now and he could hear the rest of them closing in. Somewhere behind him he could hear a vehicle coming towards him and as he tried to stand up he walked straight into the headlight beams from the approaching black and white.

Hutch knew he was not going to be allowed to leave in one piece so he decided his chances were slightly higher if he made a jump for it. He couldn't see clearly but knew there was water below him. Another shot rang out as he leapt over the edge. He landed heavily on his side on a lower ledge and rolled himself off into the frigid water below.

The impact of the icy water was enough to pull him under momentarily and he felt his body go limp. The dull roar in his guts and the inability to draw breath combined so that he felt no desire to do anything but close his eyes and sink.


	6. Chapter 6

**So last time we left our poor boy in a slight pickle. I make no apologies for leaving you with a cliffhanger as I have been known to do that now and again! If you can find me you can shoot me but then you will never know what happened in the story.**

**BTW just in case you were wondering I picked the name Michael because it's the name of somebody I really don't like. Nothing to do with Paul Michael Glaser which I didn't even think about! Cos him, I like!**

**Chapter Six**

It could have been thirty seconds or it could have been hours. Either way Hutch had no concept of how much time had passed. What he did become aware of was a tugging on his mind that drew him back to reality. Something, possibly an inbuilt survival instinct, kicked in and his brain began to register what was happening to his body. Freezing water was dragging him along and he felt a rising sense of panic as he tried to take a breath. He choked on a mouthful of water and the panic intensified. He began to frantically kick upwards. At least he hoped it was upwards because right now his brain wasn't operating at full capacity.

It seemed like an eternity but finally he broke the surface and gulped in a mouthful of fresh air. He coughed and gagged on the foul water he had swallowed and felt himself being pulled back under. His stomach was clenching itself into a knot as he kicked back up to the surface. It seemed his whole body was on fire and yet frozen at the same time. As he got his head above water again he tried to spread his arms and float on his back. It was only partially successful and he could feel his body being dragged along by the current.

He was too tired to care where the current was taking him as it was all he could do to stay afloat. The lights from the dock had long since faded into the distance. The thudding in his stomach was growing louder and he could sense his vision beginning to gray at the edges. It was only a matter of time before he passed out.

* * *

><p>The black and white slammed to a halt on the edge of the dock and a uniformed officer leaped out of each side.<p>

"Who the hell was that?" one of them shouted at the hired muscle standing on the edge.

"Dunno but it doesn't matter. He won't be talking to anybody. Ever again!" A chilling laugh rang out in the darkness.

"Are you sure you got him?" The second officer leaned over the edge and looked out across the water.

"Definitely! He went down and he ain't comin' back up."

Suddenly the water erupted in a spray of bullets as one of them fired everything he had into the darkness.

"What are you doing?"

"Just making sure of that!"

"Then let's get out of here. Before anything else happens." Both cops began climbing back in their squad car but they were pulled up short.

"What about his vehicle?"

"What vehicle?"

"The one parked around behind the second warehouse."

"Forget about it."

"What? Are you crazy? Somebody's gonna find it in the next day or two."

"Actually somebody's gonna call it in tomorrow morning. And we'll be the ones to take the callout. And we can put in a report that keeps all of us out of sight. After all there has to be some advantage to bein' a cop!"

He climbed back into the passenger seat and smiled. He knew exactly who would make the morning call and it would go straight through to his desk. Yes there had to be some advantages.

It was only a few minutes before the dock stood silent and empty again.

* * *

><p>It seemed the only piece of luck working in Hutch's favour was the tide. If it had been a few hours earlier the tide would have been dragging his body out to sea. Instead it was the beginning of the high tide and the water was flowing back in. He still had no idea where he was but when he felt something solid under him he managed to drag himself out of the water and flop face down in the grass. He shivered violently as he tried to get up. The best he could manage was to raise himself to his knees before intense pain knocked the very breath out of him and he collapsed again.<p>

* * *

><p>Starsky pushed open the door and headed for his desk but was surprised to see somebody sitting there. One of the newbies, whose name he couldn't recall immediately, was sitting next to her and the woman had obviously been crying. As he got closer the young officer stood up and came towards him.<p>

"Detective Starsky, this is Marjorie Lansing. We were looking for Detective Hutchinson."

"Hello," he nodded towards her as he glanced at his watch. "Well if he ain't here yet he won't be too far away."

He sat down on the desk next to the woman and looked her over. He guessed she was in her 40's and she looked exhausted.

She reached out and grabbed his forearm. "Detective Hutchinson is your partner, yes?"

"Yep. Anything I can do for you while we wait for him?"

"I need …. I really need to talk to him! He's the last person I know of who spoke to my dau … to my daughter." The last word came out in a choked off sob. She pulled her hand back and covered her face as the tears began afresh.

Benson pulled a box of Kleenex from somewhere and the woman eventually composed herself enough to continue speaking.

"My two daughters ran away from home a month ago. It's all my fault. I should have listened. But I was too blinded. Or charmed. Or … or … oh I don't know. Whatever, I still should have listened!"

Starsky glanced over her head at Benson. The young officer just shrugged his shoulders.

"Mrs Lansing's daughter, Nikki got picked up last week trying to lift something from a deli. Before I could finish processing her she um … she took off."

"So where does Hutch fit in?"

"He spoke with the girl and he brought her some food. She looked pretty scrawny and he figured she was hungry."

At this description of her daughter Marjorie began sobbing again. "My daughters are out there somewhere and they are hungry! What else is going on for them?"

Suddenly Starsky remembered his partner telling him about the kid who had kicked Benson in the shins, twice, before doing a runner. At the time Hutch had laughed while describing the incident with the rookie but had quickly sobered when he described her physical condition. He also remembered that there was a cop involved somewhere.

"I remember now. Your boyfriend is a cop, yeah?"

The woman in front of him seemed to wilt into the chair. When she finally spoke it was little more than a whisper. "My husband passed away nine years ago. There hasn't been anybody since then until I met Michael. A mutual friend introduced us and we seemed to hit it off. We got engaged but Nikki wasn't happy about it. She's fifteen and … well … do you have children, Detective?"

Starsky shook his head. "No Ma'am. Not yet."

"Well let me tell you that once they become teenagers they can morph into something you don't recognise! Nikki and I seemed to argue over everything! If I said it was black she would insist it was white." Marjorie drew a breath and blinked away fresh tears.

"I thought when Michael came along he would be a good influence. She needed a firm hand and a father in her life and he was a police officer. An upstanding man. He tried to connect with her and I … I actually encouraged it. Oh God! If I had only listened to her!" This time the tears began and would not stop. The desperate mother buried her face in her hands.

Starsky raised an eyebrow at Benson who just shook his head. Neither man was really prepared for what was coming next.

Marjorie raised her face a little and tried valiantly to stifle her sobs and in between choking back tears she laid out the rest of the story. Both men felt sick as they heard why two innocent girls had felt forced to flee from their home.

"So where is he now?"

"Still in the hospital. It's probably the safest place for him. When I finally got to the bottom of it all I wanted to … I wanted … to kill him myself! I wish he had broken his neck when he fell down the stairs."

Both officers looked at each and Starsky saw the same anger in Benson's eyes that he felt himself. If Hutch had known the truth that day there's no way the kid would have gotten past him.

Starsky glanced at his watch again. It was almost half an hour since he had first said his partner shouldn't be long. It wasn't like Hutch to be this late without calling in. "Would you excuse me Mrs Lansing?"

She could only muster a nod and continued dabbing at her eyes.

Before he could make a call to the switch to check on his wayward partner Dobey came hurrying through the door.

"Starsky, in my office, now!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Dobey pulled the detective into his office and quickly shut the door behind him.

"What were you two up to last night?"

"Uh Captain … I'm not sure that's in the realm of information you're ready for. I think I'm in love!" He grinned but suddenly realised that Dobey wasn't asking about his love life.

"I _meant_, what were you and _Hutchinson_ doing last night?"

"Nothin'. I went out on a date and Hutch was heading home."

"So you weren't out at the docks?"

"The _docks_? Captain, you know we've been out there several times looking for information but not yesterday. Why? What's going on?" The knot that was forming in his stomach twisted up a notch.

"Hutch's car was found there early this morning by a construction foreman. But there's no sign of him."

That on its own wasn't enough to explain the look on his captain's face.

Starsky narrowed his eyes and stared back at him. "What else?"

"There's blood all over the ground. He hasn't clocked in this morning and he's not answering his phone."

Starsky had been a cop long enough to know that his gut reaction was usually worth listening to. And right now his gut was twisting itself into a pretzel. He reacted rather than responded and bolted for the door.

"Starsky! Keep me posted!" Dobey yelled to his retreating back. He had no doubt where the detective was headed.

Benson watched as Detective Starsky rushed past him without stopping to acknowledge either himself or Mrs Lansing. He turned back when he realised Capain Dobey had stepped out of his office.

"Captain, Mrs Lansing here is waiting to see Detective Hutchinson. Do you have any idea when we can expect him in this morning?"

The pained look that crossed his commanding officer's face was quickly replaced by a schooled mask. He was about to speak again when Dobey cut him off.

"I'm sorry Ma'am but Benson will need to get your contact details and we'll be in touch as soon as the detective is available."

* * *

><p>Hutch's car never looked flash on a good day but now it looked even worse, parked up against a derelict old building and hidden behind a large stack of old crates. Starsky pulled the Torino in behind it and quickly climbed out. He gave his partner's battered vehicle a quick once-over to check if anything there needed his attention but nothing caught his eye as being out of place. Except for the fact that it was parked where it shouldn't be and its owner was nowhere to be seen. He looked up to see a man in dark blue coveralls coming towards him and he guessed it must be the foreman Dobey had mentioned.<p>

He pulled out his badge as he introduced himself. "Are you the one who called it in?"

"Yep. I'm Keith Reynolds. I'm the foreman on this site and I got here about 40 minutes ago. This is a closed worksite and nobody should be here. The site's unstable and only authorised personnel are allowed on site. I saw the car and figured a contractor might have shown up early so I came over to chew him out about regs." He shrugged slightly before continuing on.

"There wasn't anybody here so I went looking for them. That's when I found the blood."

Starsky felt the knot inch up another notch but he swallowed it down. "You wanna show me where this blood is?"

"Sure. Down this way." He nodded over his shoulder and the detective followed him as he headed away from the building. Along the way Starsky kept a keen lookout for anything else out of place but nothing leapt out at him. Until Reynolds stopped walking and pointed directly ahead of him.

"Over there."

Starsky crouched down and ran his fingers over the stain on the concrete. It may have dried but there was no mistaking it was blood. Three distinct patches of it. It would be up to the forensics team to determine the blood type but he was pretty sure he already knew what it was. He closed his eyes and tried to squeeze out the image that was running rampant across his thoughts. Just how much blood could somebody leave on the ground and still be alright?

"Detective? I said, are you OK?"

He shook himself out of his thoughts as he slowly stood up. "Yeah. Just … nothin'!"

Reynolds was standing watching him with a concerned expression on his face.

"Cos I think your forensics team are here." He thumbed towards a black and white that was pulling up next to his partner's car.

Starksy looked up and shook his head as Ferretti and Hanlon climbed out of their patrol car and started over towards them. "They ain't Forensics. I guess Dobey decided I needed some help."

"Detective Starsky. We got the call on the abandoned car. Any idea yet whose it is?"

Starsky looked away before turning back to answer. He frowned slightly as the question didn't make sense if Dobey had sent them. "It's my partner's."

He saw a quick glance pass between the two men before Ferretti stepped towards him. "Hutch's? What would he be doing all the way out here?"

He decided it was better to keep his cards close to his chest for the moment so he shook his head. "No idea!"

Before they could ask any further questions the real forensics team arrived and Starksy was quickly caught up helping them look for anything that would give him a clue about where his missing partner was. He left Hanlon to interview the foreman since he'd already asked his own questions. Ferretti seemed to be shadowing him until they got close to the edge of the dock. At that point he decided he'd go and check out Hutch's car to see if he could find anything relevant there. Starsky was actually relieved to see him go.

He stood on the edge of the dock and stared out at the vast expanse of water.

"Tell me where you are buddy?" He felt his stomach clench again and he choked back whatever was rising up his throat. He turned back towards the bloodstains and watched one of the forensics guys measuring the space between the patches.

"It looks like whoever this was rolled several times."

_Standard response to make yourself a moving target. Harder to hit that way. _

"Except you obviously got hit," he muttered to himself.

"Detective?"

"Nothin'. Just thinkin' aloud."

"Well it looks possible that whoever this was may have gone over the edge."

Starksy raced across to the edge of the dock again. He jumped down and immediately began looking around for any further bloodtrail. There were a few old cray pots and scattered bits of lumber but no blood. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not. If his partner had been shot up top and there was no sign of him down here then had somebody taken him somewhere else? Did that mean they captured him or had taken his body somewhere to dispose of it?

He nosed around behind the cray pots and suddenly pulled up short. He grabbed a corner of his shirt before he reached down and lifted up a black magnum. Hutch's weapon of choice. With his free hand he pulled out the other side of his shirt and checked to see if it had been fired. Not one bullet was missing. There was no way Hutch would have gone down without a fight and yet if this was his gun he hadn't even gotten off a single round.

Starksy swallowed down the bile that was rising again and he sucked in a deep breath. He didn't trust himself to speak so he slowly walked along the undercroft until he reached the ladder back to the dock. He shoved the magnum in the back of his jeans and climbed back up.

He ignored the other officers as he walked towards his car in a daze. He leaned in and grabbed the receiver from its cradle. It didn't take long for Mildred to patch him through to Dobey. The captain's voice echoed over the radio but he didn't immediately register the words. His mind was racing and it was just background noise.

"Starsky! Are you there?"

"Uh yeah. Cap'n we are gonna need some boats out here."

"What are you talking about?"

Starsky sat down heavily in the driver's seat and relayed what he had found. He closed his eyes and pulled the magnum out from behind him.

_He never even got off a round!_

Dobey said something about getting search crews out to the area but Starsky was only half listening. His mind kept throwing up images of blood spread across the ground and he flinched.

_Where are you buddy?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Thankyou to Pegbronco for your help with my questions. I don't live in the US so needed to make sure I was on the right track. Thankyou also to Kristleap for giving me the kick in the pants to get this chapter up. I got stuck on a plot point but I think I've got it resolved.**

**Chapter Eight**

The sound of the Coast Guard vessel changed again and he vaguely realised it was passing away from him. Not that he knew it was the Coast Guard. It was just a boat that had slowly cruised past his hiding place. A distorted memory of another boat flooded his mind and Hutch pulled himself further in behind the scrappy trees and hoped they hadn't seen him. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was but something about anyone looking for him was both distressing and comforting. He couldn't be sure the boat crew actually was looking for him but whatever the case he didn't think he wanted to be found. He leaned back against the tree trunk and tried to ride out the wave of nausea that was threatening to knock him back to the ground.

As he closed his eyes and fought down the bile he could feel himself shaking again. Something tugged at his mind and he began to recall something more of the night before. There was a flash of a police car driving towards him. Somebody in uniform had climbed out of that car. Somebody he knew. Was that the same person who had been pointing a weapon towards him? He couldn't recall why right at the moment but something about the hazy images was very disturbing. Why were the police after him? The more he tried to focus on that the more his head began to swim.

It was another few minutes before he was able to fully open his eyes and really take in his surroundings. He had no idea how much time had passed since he had woken up in the sand. The water had receded and he was high above the water line but his clothes were still very damp. The day wasn't particularly cold but he felt himself trembling. As he tried to stand up he was overwhelmed by sharp pains running the length of his left side. A tentative lift of his shirt revealed an ugly bruise reaching from under his arm across the width of his chest. What really worried Hutch was the injury below it. A puncture wound of some sort, surrounded by red, puckered flesh. He stared at it for a moment, trying to recall what had caused it.

The bile began to rise up his throat again as another memory surfaced. Somebody had shot him! He was glad he was still sitting down because he was pretty sure he would have fallen down. The memories began to rapidly fire into his mind and he again saw the cruiser coming towards him at the same time he was shot.

Hutch reached down and almost touched the wound in his belly. He pulled back at the last moment; afraid of how much more it would hurt if his fingers probed it. To say it hurt already was like saying the Nile was just a creek. The pain was there but as his mind cleared it seemed the pain level rose in tandem.

"Why are the cops trying to kill me?" The question hung in the air but there was nobody around to answer it for him. "And where's Starsky?"

* * *

><p>"Get out!" Nikki grabbed the sleeve of the young boy and dragged him backwards along the small tunnel. As he tried to twist out of her grip she noticed he was still clutching something to his chest.<p>

"Give me that back!" she screamed at him. It was only a small bag of fruit but it was _her _bag of fruit. The would-be thief dropped the bag at her feet and used the distraction to twist sideways. It was enough to force Nikki to let go of his arm and he ran towards the tunnel entrance. She debated for a second whether to give chase but decided against it. He was younger and smaller than her but not by much. She had saved their meagre food supplies which was her primary concern but she had been running on adrenaline and now it was quickly ebbing away.

"Who was that?" Jess came running towards her sister and was shocked to see how pale her face was. "Are you alright? Nikki?"

"Just …. just some hungry kid." The words were barely a whisper. Not a day had gone by that she didn't feel the weight of responsibility for their predicament but this just reinforced it. She had quickly found there was a level of honour amongst those on the streets. It was alright to steal food or clothes from nameless store owners or from untended backyards but it was quite another thing to steal from somebody else who was in the same desperate position.

As the last of the adrenaline rush washed away Nikki found her legs buckling from under her. She slumped to the floor and dropped her head into her hands. Jess dropped down beside her, suddenly alarmed that the boy may have hurt her sister. "Nik? What's wrong?"

It was several minutes before she lifted her head and looked at her baby sister. "I've made such a mess of things." The words sat between them and Jess shifted uncomfortably. "We can't stay here."

"Where will we go?" The look of trust on Jess's face almost broke Nikki's heart.

_We? We aren't going anywhere._

Nikki gasped as the thought flew through her mind. Jess shuffled a little closer to her and the look of trust mingled with anxiety.

"I don't know. Yet! But I do know we can't stay here. It's getting colder and we can't stay outside for much longer. Don't worry, I'll think of something."

The look of trust was back as Nikki ran her hand down the side of her sister's face. She smiled and hoped that it covered the plan that was forming in her mind. There was no way she could ask anyone for help but her sister was totally innocent. She hadn't killed anybody and there had to be somebody out there who would take her in.

* * *

><p>Starsky marched silently into Dobey's office. The captain glanced up as the door opened and he shot up from his chair as he saw who it was.<p>

"Any news?" He really didn't need to ask the question because the look on his detective's face told him all he needed to know.

"Not a thing! Anything from your end?"

Dobey sat down heavily on the edge of the desk. He shook his head slowly.

"Nothin'! The ground crews have been calling in every hour but there's no sign of him."

It had been over five hours since Starsky called in for help and since then he had been out with the Coast Guard trawling the waters around the docks. They knew the local currents and had plotted a search pattern but it was based on guesswork since nobody knew what time Hutch had arrived at the docks. The tide was the biggest factor and they had erred on the side of the tide coming in. There wasn't a whole lot of hope in the alternative. Even though nobody had voiced it to Starsky, as they cruised the waters he was reminded firsthand just how big the bay actually was.

Dobey knew they were looking for his missing detective but the reality that was gnawing at him was that they were looking for a body. He knew about the blood and the magnum and he'd agreed with Starksy's assessment that there was no way Hutch would have gone down without a fight. Unless he had no choice about it. Starsky's alternate theory that Hutch had been shot and removed from the docks didn't give him any more hope than the current situation. Either way it seemed they were looking for a body. He shook his head and refused to accept that line of reasoning until he had evidence.

"Captain, one more thing."

"What?"

"Did you send Ferretti and Hanlon out to help me this morning?"

"No. Why?"

"Well for some reason they turned up at the docks not long after I got there. I thought you must have sent them but then they asked me whose car it was.

Dobey looked up sharply. "If they weren't sent there and didn't know from radio chatter about Hutch's car, what made them go there?"

"Exactly what I was wondering! Cap'n, Hutch and I had already figured that the drugs were coming in through that dock. We were just looking for proof to back it up. I'm guessing Hutch got some kind of tipoff. What I can't figure is why he didn't call me before headin' off to play on his own."

Dobey just nodded grimly. He'd always said there were to be no private parties and when he got hold of Hutchinson he was going to reinforce that particular rule.

"And just why Hanlon and Ferretti showed up." Starsky frowned as he had already made a possible connection that he really didn't want to be making.

"Let me take care of that."

"Captain, if there's something they know that they shouldn't you can't tip them off we are on to them."

"Starksy, I was doing this whole policing game when you were in diapers!"

The detective at least had the grace to realise what he had said and he started to apologise but Dobey held up a hand.

"I'll let that one slide but only because I know where your head's at."

Starsky slumped into the nearest chair. "Forensics called me on the way back."

"I know." Dobey nodded grimly. "It's his blood type."

"And his gun!" Starsky ran a hand through his hair as he struggled to work out his next move. The person he would normally bounce ideas off wasn't there.

For the millionth time that day his mind returned to the same question.

_Where are you, buddy?_


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the delay in posting the next chapter but life is kinda crazy. **

** Thankyou to everyone who has taken time to review. If you are reading this story I'd love to know what you think.**

**Chapter Nine**

The muffled sound of someone yelling was the thing that finally broke through the haze. It was ingrained for a cop to go to the aid of someone in trouble and it sure sounded like someone was in trouble. Hutch lifted his head off his chest and struggled to get to his feet. His head pounded and a sudden spike of pain in his midriff nearly knocked him back to the ground. He slowly pulled himself to his feet and stumbled back slightly before managing to get himself steadied. He glanced around at his surroundings and briefly wondered where he was. It was short lived though as another yell ripped the cold morning air and he staggered towards the sound. Whoever was doing the shouting was female but that was as far as his mind could process. It was coming from uphill a little and he half climbed, half crawled up the slope towards the sound. A moment later he saw the overgrown entrance to an old drainage pipe and his suspicion was confirmed when angry words echoed through the opening.

He looked around for a weapon before settling on a short but solid length of tree branch. The effort of getting that far was taking its toll and his vision was beginning to blur over again. Before he could go any further he saw a boy of about 13 or 14 come running out of the tunnel.

It was scarcely moments later that a girl appeared out of the trees and ran towards the tunnel entrance. She didn't even glance in his direction but he noticed that the shouting had stopped. He stared at the tunnel entrance for a minute as his brain tried to catch up with what he was taking in. The shouting had stopped.

Instinct quickly kicked in again and he stumbled towards the tunnel again. The shouting had stopped. Maybe whoever had come running out of that tunnel had made sure of that. Under normal circumstances it would have only been a few long strides to reach the top but today was far from normal. Hutch found himself wheezing as he pushed back the scrappy vegetation over the tunnel entrance and eased inside. He could hear voices echoing off the walls but couldn't make out the words. He had just about reached the limit of his energy and he leaned heavily on the wall as he followed the tunnel a little further.

A scream bounced off the walls and again it was more instinct than anything that made the detective stop in his tracks. He caught sight of two figures ahead of him and realised the screaming was coming from the one closest to him. Maybe the boy he'd seen running out had returned and he automatically slipped into defense mode. The only weapon he had was the tree branch and he raised his arm while turning back to see who was behind him.

A hard shove from his right was enough to send him flying towards the tunnel wall. He was too slow to react and he felt himself being slammed against the wall as an explosion of pain ripped through his side. He had a vague idea that the ribs he had cracked the night before had just given out but he grunted in agony and made a feeble attempt to swing the tree branch towards his attacker. He raised his arm again and suddenly the teenager beside him began to back away. He didn't think he was that threatening but for some reason the girl suddenly looked terrified. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew there was another one but right now he could only focus on the one in front of him.

"Don't … I mean … man there's no reason to … " The last words trailed away as the girl turned and ran to grab her sister. It took a moment for it to register that the teenager had seen his gun holster. He subconsciously reached in to pat it but his fingers came up empty.

Hutch leaned against the wall and tried to draw a breath. His stomach was on fire but now he also found it impossible to pull a breath without his vision blurring over. Pain spiked through his chest and he felt himself sliding down the wall.

Another voice rang out but his mind couldn't process the words. As he passed out the last thing he saw was two terrified young faces staring at him.

Nikki grabbed her sister by the arm and yanked her away from the stranger on the ground.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Nikki muttered, more to herself than anything.

"I dunno where he came from. He just, he just …." The words drifted away as the distressed young girl gave in to the panic that overwhelmed her. Her sister hugged her tighter and stared at the stranger. Something about him was familiar but she didn't think she had seen him around their makeshift camp. She knew most of the homeless people in the area by sight even though she tried hard to avoid actually speaking with any of them. The boy who had been rummaging through their things was someone she had only seen once before but this guy was from somewhere else.

It was a good ten minutes before either of the girls had stopped shaking and they slowly disentangled themselves from each other. The stranger hadn't moved from where he had dropped to the floor. While Jess seemed to be unaware of why he had collapsed, Nikki had heard the groan of pain before he fell. She had only pushed him into the wall and she knew he certainly hadn't been hurt by her.

Her mind was racing and she finally decided she needed to take advantage of the fact he was still unconscious. She gently pushed her sister aside and scooted over towards the man. If nothing else, she needed to remove whatever weapon he had that he could use against them. Her heart was in her mouth as she grabbed hold of his jacket and she was surprised to find it was damp. She swallowed down her fear and pulled back the jacket to get to his gun holster.

"What!"

Jess crouched down beside her.

"It's empty." Nikki sat back on the ground and shook her head. "Who wears a holster without a gun?" Suddenly another idea sprang to mind. "Maybe he stashed it in his belt or something." She had seen enough television shows and movies to know that people sometimes concealed weapons.

It was one thing to pull back a jacket but quite another to search a grown man. Nikki glanced at her sister before pulling at the man's jacket again and reaching around his waist. She came up empty handed but then quickly reached into his back pockets in the hope that he wouldn't wake up any time soon. Her fingers seized on something leather and she quickly slid out a brown wallet. At least now she would know who he was, even if it still didn't give her any idea why he was there.

Just like the rest of him, the wallet was soggy and she quickly flipped it open. What was inside wasn't at all what she had been expecting and she dropped it like it had burnt her. The shiny metal shield glared at her from the ground and she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. Michael had sent someone after them! Why else would a cop be here and trying to hit her with a tree branch? The erratic thoughts kept bouncing at her for another minute or so before she realised how ridiculous she was being. After all, Michael was dead!

Jess reached out and picked the wallet up off the ground. The picture inside of a blonde man looked nothing like the man lying on the ground in front of her.

''Detective Sergeant Kenneth Hutchinson." She stared at the stranger before looking back at her sister. Nikki didn't seem to have heard her and she was just about to repeat it when she grabbed the wallet out of Jess's hand.

"Hutchinson?" She stared at the ID photo and screwed up her face.

"_I thought you might be hungry."_

The words had been spoken a lifetime ago. At least that was how it felt after weeks on the streets.

"Nikki?"

"Huh?"

"I asked you, what's wrong?"

She shook her head as if she could shake away the memory.

"Nothing Honey. I just … I mean … he's a cop! And we need to get out of here before any more of them show up."

She stood up and shoved the wallet into her back pocket. Jess was still crouched down beside the stranger and she grabbed at her shoulder to make her move.

"C'mon! Grab everything and let's get out of here."

"But Nik … what about him?"

"He'll wake up soon enough and when he does he'll call for help. Before you know it this place is going to be crawling with cops and we have to move!"

Jess reluctantly stood up and began to follow her sister's instructions. After all Nikki had kept her safe since they had left home. If Nikki said it was time to move then it was time to move. She watched her sister head to the back of their temporary home and begin to stuff their few possessions into a backpack.

_Somebody had turned up the furnace. He needed to tell them to dial it back but he couldn't seem to find anybody to tell. _

Jess watched intently as the man on the ground groaned again. He had seemed to be asleep but now she wasn't so sure. He muttered something incoherent and waved his arm feebly as though he were swatting away a fly.

Jess didn't like being anywhere near the man but she wasn't sure if it was because he frightened her or worried her. Maybe it was both. She crept over closer but still managed to keep out of arm's reach. It was safer that way. She leaned in to see the man's face and noted that it was flushed.

"Just like Michael's," she thought bitterly. "Are you just a drunk too?" As she whispered the words to the blonde stranger he shifted slightly in his sleep. The movement seemed to cause him pain because he cried out and his eyes flung open. For a moment he stared around wildly and tried to take in his surroundings.

Hutch locked eyes with the young girl in front of him and frowned in confusion. It took a moment to register that he was lying on the ground but once it did, he began to pull himself upright. The movement caused a sharp spike of pain down his side and he hissed in a breath through gritted teeth. He tried to breath through it but that just made him dizzy. He gave up on trying to sit up and just concentrated on stopping the world from spinning instead.

Before he could examine the cause of his pain he looked up to see the girl backing away from him in fear. Something in the back of his mind asked why she would be looking at him with fear plastered all over her face and he tried to speak to reassure her. Nothing would come out and he realised his tongue felt like it was glued to the top of his mouth.

Jess scooted as far away from him as she could and pressed herself up against the wall. The man reached out a hand towards her and she tried to push herself even further into the wall but there was no give in the hard concrete. He mumbled something about not hurting her but she'd heard that one before. When the stranger raised his arm she got another glimpse of a gun holster. Nobody carried a gun if they weren't prepared to use it.

Jess barely stifled a scream as someone grabbed her from behind. She hadn't heard her sister approach and she breathed a sigh of relief as Nikki tried to push her down the tunnel and away from the stranger.

"C'mon! We have to go. Now!" Jess grabbed hold of one of the backpacks and hefted it onto her shoulder. As she rounded the bend in the tunnel she glanced back over her shoulder. The stranger was asleep again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Captain Dobey stared at the phone as he laid it back on the cradle. He took a slow breath and read over the information he had scribbled on the notepad before looking back up. He stifled a sigh as he thought about how he would normally be handing this job to two partners but this wasn't a normal day.

Starsky cleared his throat and raised an enquiring eyebrow. "Well?"

"It seems Huggy's information was on the money. Ferretti just took a call from his snitch. He's arranged a meeting for half an hour."

"Where?"

Dobey pulled the top sheet of paper off the pad and held it out. As the detective went to snatch it out of his hand he suddenly yanked it back.

"Captain?"

"You don't know how deep this goes yet. This is surveillance _only_ at this stage."

Starsky reached out for the paper again and Dobey handed it to him. "Play it carefully."

"Don't you think I know what's hanging on this?" The question came out harsher than he intended but he couldn't contain his agitation.

"I've got one missing detective already!" Dobey exploded. "I don't need to be looking for another one!" As suddenly as it had flared the bluster seemed to die out and he sighed.

"I know what I'm doing Captain."

"Get out of here."

"And make sure you come back," he muttered as he watched the solo detective race out the door.

He sat for a few minutes and again stared at the phone on his desk. He knew he was walking a thin line but he wasn't yet ready to call in the FBI. Doing that would make him the one who had called another cop dirty. Not that he shirked responsibility but it made him sick to his stomach to know what that phone call meant.

* * *

><p>Starsky hunched down in the car and watched as Hanlon came hurrying out through the door and headed across the garage. The Torino was parked at the front of the station and he knew Ferretti would have to pass it on his way out. The nondescript green Ford he had borrowed from Huggy was certainly not his taste but it was a lot less likely to be picked up as a tail. There was no way he was going to lose the two men he held accountable for his partner's disappearance. He refused to give voice to the thought that they could also be responsible for his death.<p>

The two officers eventually drove past in a black and white and Starsky allowed several more vehicles to follow before he pulled out into the traffic. Even though he knew where Ferretti was supposed to be heading he didn't want to risk losing them. It was only a five minute trip to the agreed meeting place and Starsky pulled in behind a small moving van which was being unloaded. He waited until the two men climbed out of their cruiser and headed down an alleyway before he slipped out of his own car and followed them from a distance.

From his hiding place behind a dumpster Starsky could see the meeting but not really hear anything. A mousey looking man who he knew only by sight was pacing back and forth in an agitated fashion. It never ceased to amaze him where Huggy got his information from but it was generally worth listening to. The apparent snitch looked like a stiff breeze would knock him down and yet he was now arguing wildly with the two cops.

The conversation only lasted another few minutes and suddenly Starsky found himself having to scramble around behind the dumpster as Ferretti and Hanlon came storming back down the alleyway. He could only catch snippets as they raced past him but it was crystal clear that both men were furious. He waited another minute until they had reached the end of the alley and was about to slip out from behind the dumpster when he heard footsteps coming towards him. He squeezed back into the gap and held his breath.

Huggy's contact hurried past and headed out onto the main road. Starsky gave him a minute to turn the corner before heading out to follow him. He was torn between following on foot and heading back for his car but the decision was quickly made for him. The snitch climbed into the nearest taxi and was gone before he had a chance to get across the road. It was second nature for a detective to note licence details and it only took minutes for him to get to his car and scribble down the details. Dobey had said it was surveillance only and as much as he hated the lack of action there was nothing else to do but head back to the precinct.

On the short drive back his thoughts kept returning to the blood stains on the dock.

_Where are you?_

He glanced across at the empty seat beside him and felt the bile rising up his throat. It wasn't often that he was on the job alone. Even when he was undercover he still knew his partner always had his back. It always worked both ways but suddenly the empty car felt overwhelmingly empty. He had no idea where his partner even was and had no hope of covering his back.

"_Each time they keep telling me that you aren't coming. That you don't know where I am."_

His partner's words echoed across the empty space like an accusation and he flinched. How could a dream have turned out so accurately?

"I don't know where you are! Tell me where you are!"

One of the hardest parts of police work was dealing with all the unknowns. Starsky gripped the steering wheel tighter and tried to block out the fears that were crowding for his attention.

"_The only thing that woulda stopped me looking for you would be if I was dead!"_

"Well I ain't dead, Blintz and _nothing_ is gonna stop me looking until I find you!" Starsky looked across at the empty seat again and felt a little foolish to be talking to thin air. It did nothing to lessen his resolve though and he frowned. "You hear me? Nothin'!"

As he pulled into a parking bay Starsky's mind was racing. Hanlon and Ferretti had run from their meeting pretty quickly and they weren't happy. Putting the major pieces together wasn't all that hard. Obviously Hutch had stumbled onto something last night and now the two rogue cops were trying to cover their tracks. The question of whether or not they were dirty was no longer a question to Starsky. The real question was how many more were tainted too. He slid out of the driver's seat and cautiously walked down the sidewalk towards the front door.

He was barely in the front door before Ferretti came bounding up the stairs from the garage entrance. Hanlon was nowhere to be seen and it was all Starsky could manage to stop himself from looking around for him.

"Any news, Detective?"

"What?"

"From the search teams?"

Starsky had to force down the angry retort that was rising from the pit of his stomach and pretend that he knew nothing of the man's deception. After all, if he could trip one of them up he might just be able to glean something useful.

He shook his head. "Nothin' yet. But the ground crews are still out there. I came in to check out the forensics information and see if they could give me anything new."

"Is it true they found Hutch's gun at the dock?"

Starsky tried to keep a neutral face. He hadn't handed it to the forensics team at the dock. He hadn't even mentioned it at the time. It wasn't until later that he had handed it to Dobey.

"Yep."

Ferretti shuffled slightly and looked like he wanted to ask something further but stopped himself. "Well, uh … let me know if there's anything new will ya?"

"Sure. Gotta go." Starsky headed for the stairs and tried to shake the feeling he needed a shower.

Dobey was on the phone when Starsky walked into his office and judging by the look on his face, the conversation wasn't going as he wished.

"That's my detective you are talking about!" He gripped the phone tighter and glared across at Starsky. "No! I don't believe that for a minute!"

If Dobey could have climbed down the phone line and strangled the caller, Starsky was pretty sure he would have.

"Now you listen to me you …." The captain looked about ready to explode. "Thanks for nothing!" He slammed the phone down and pounded a fist into his desk. "Damn IA!"

"Cap'n?"

"You remember Dryden from IA?"

"The moron who tried to arrest Hutch for Vanessa's murder?"

"That's the one! Well guess who Internal Affairs assigned to this case?"

Starsky was quickly putting the pieces together and could see why Dobey was so furious.

"He thought Hutch was dirty then and it seems he still thinks so."

"What! Hutch was cleared of any involvement!"

"It seems that maybe Dryden and his idiot partner didn't take too kindly to being wrong."

"So I'm guessing we can't expect much help from that end."

Dobey scrubbed his hands through the sides of his hair. "Well their motive for finding him is a little different to ours. And there's a little less concern about what condition he's in when we find him."

Starsky was subconsciously flexing his left hand as he remembered the last time he had worked with the two IA ghouls. Simonetti had a hard jaw but Starsky had a mean hook.

Before he could say anything further the phone began to ring again. Dobey snatched it up.

"Yeah, he's right here."

The captain held the phone out.

"It's Huggy. Says he needs to see you right away."

Starsky didn't bother to take the phone but ran for the door. Dobey just shook his head. "Stop doing that!" he muttered to himself.

"He's on his way."


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry it's taken so long to get this next chapter up but life is kinda full on at the moment. There are just not enough hours in a day. Thankyou for your patience and the reviews. I promise Rescue45 that I always finish any story I start. **

**Chapter Eleven**

"_I thought you might be hungry."_

Nikki screwed up her face and tried again to push the thought aside. A nagging sense of doubt kept gnawing at her insides as she pushed herself further towards the city. Jess trudged along silently beside her and seemed lost in her own thoughts.

"_I thought you might be hungry."_

"Oh just stop it!"

Jess stopped walking and turned to look at her sister. "Stop what?"

Nikki tried to avoid making eye contact as she desperately tried to squash her discomfort. "Nothing!"

"Nik … I … um …stop what? What did you mean?"

Jess stood on the sidewalk and watched as her sister continued to squirm.

"That guy back there. He … um… just something that he said to me."

"Huh? He didn't say much at all."

"No!" Nikki shook her head before looking away again. "Not today," she whispered.

"Nik? What are you talking about?"

"We have to tell somebody."

Jess just waited as her sister shuffled from one foot to the other.

"We have to tell somebody that he's there. We can't just leave him there. He doesn't deserve that."

Jess smiled up at her sister and nodded her head. The stranger had frightened her but as they put more distance between them and their former camp she began to wonder what was happening to him. The guilt of leaving him lying on the ground was chewing up her insides as well and she was relieved that Nikki had finally said something.

"So we're going back?"

Nikki refused to look at her. Jess waited and watched as a range of things flitted over her sister's face.

"We _can't_ go back!" Nikki clenched her fists in frustration but tried to stop herself from raising her voice any further. "I'm sorry. But we can't go back."

"Why? It's not like we have any place else we have to be."

"It's not that. He's a cop, remember? Where there's one there are usually more."

Jess just nodded but couldn't think what else they could do.

* * *

><p>Starsky sat hunched in the booth and fiddled with the coaster in front of him. It had only been a few moments since he arrived but he had already caught Huggy's eye and his friend hurried over to the booth. He had barely slid into the opposite seat before the information came tumbling out. Starsky knew Huggy was just as concerned as he was about Hutch.<p>

"His name is Jackson Forbes. Small time drug runner and information merchant. Somehow he got tied up with your two fine police officers."

Starsky snorted in disgust. "They aren't mine and they sure ain't fine!"

"Well whatever, apparently he was supposed to call into the precinct and speak to one of them about finding Hutch's car. It was supposed to give them a legit reason to head out to the docks."

"But he never called. That's why they were so angry when I saw them earlier?"

"Seems so. He hooked up with a certain lady last night and overslept this morning."

Huggy just watched and waited as the news sunk in.

"You tell him from me that he better not get any ideas about disappearing off the radar! Because, so help me, I will hunt him to the ends of the Earth!"

"I believe you would. Right now he's on the scope for too many cops. Whatever you have to deal with has to be more than what those two have to offer him."

"I know that Hug. You tell him there's an immunity deal but he has to be here to claim it. And I need him to bring them down."

Starsky slid across the seat and began to climb out of the booth. "And if he gets so much as a whiff of where Hutch is he better make you his first phone call."

"Got it."

* * *

><p>Less than half an hour later the detective sat in Dobey's office and relayed the information he had picked up.<p>

"So they were supposed to receive a call from a member of the public about an abandoned car and that would be their reason to get out there. Pretty simple really."

"Except their contact dropped the ball. And that's why they looked ready to kill him when I saw them in the alley."

Dobey just nodded. "Just make sure they don't do that for real. He's your proof."

"Well aside from Hutch's testimony."

The seasoned captain looked across the desk and sighed. While he had great faith in his people he also knew that anybody protecting their drug turf wasn't afraid to do whatever they had to. He wasn't sure that it was ever going to be possible for his detective to testify but he managed to stop himself from speaking that aloud to his agitated partner.

Before he could respond there was a loud knock at the door. It was only a moment before the door swung open and his two favourite IA officers strode through the door.

"Come in, won't you?" Dobey nodded at them with just a hint of sarcasm in his comment.

Starksy began to head for the open door when Dryden motioned him back. "We need to talk with you Detective."

"About what? How corrupt you think my partner is? Where he's stashing all his ill-gotten gains? How much he shared with me to keep me quiet?"

"Starsky!" Dobey growled at him.

"Captain, these two goons tried to take Hutch down once before and they sure as hell ain't interested in helping him now."

Simonetti glared at him but Starsky bluntly ignored him.

"So where exactly are you heading off to Detective Starsky?"

"To keep looking for my missing partner! If that's alright with you boys. And if it's not, well I guess that's just bad luck! I'll keep you posted, Captain."

As he moved towards the door Simonetti stepped in front of him. Starsky pulled up short and deliberately placed his hands on each hip. "You wanna go for Round Two? Cos Round One was so much fun."

"Believe it or not Detective we want to get to the bottom of this as much as you do. If we have dirty cops in this precinct we want to bring them down."

"See that's where we have a different agenda, Simonetti. My goal is to find my partner. Then I'll worry about the rest of it."

"Oh believe me, we want to find your partner too."

The torrent of words running through his head needed to be reigned in so Starsky bit his lip and pushed past the man as he made his way out the door. He could hear Dobey speaking but he kept going towards the lift.

Back in the Captain's office the two IA officers were fuming. "Captain Dobey, I don't know what kind of station you are running here but your detectives seem to make up the rules as they go!"

Dobey stood up from behind his desk and straightened his vest. "All right! I may not have a choice about you two being here but this is _my_ house and you don't get to come in here and start insulting me or my detectives. Now, I want to know why you are back chasing Hutchinson."

Dryden sat down in the nearest chair and Simonetti quickly followed suit. Dobey stifled a sigh as he reluctantly sat back down too.

"We have reliable information that somebody from your _house_ is supporting the flow of drugs into the city. Three of your officers were at the dock last night when we know a shipment came in. One of those officers ditched his partner before going. I'm not entirely convinced yet if Starsky is clean but we have more than enough evidence to throw the book at the other three."

Dobey visibly bristled as he heard his best team lumped in with a couple of scum, masquerading as police officers. He had more than enough evidence too but only for two of them.

"Before you start that book-throwing you might like to wait until we actually _find_ Hutchinson. Last I checked, he's still missing!"

"Yeah that's pretty convenient for him don't you think?"

"What the hell are you implying Dryden?"

"Just as the net is closing in he manages to go missing. Wouldn't be too hard to set up his own disappearance and live off the proceeds of his drug trade."

"That's it! Get out of my office! Hutch is the last officer to support the drug trade! He's missing and possibly already dead, not that either of you two care!"

The two men slowly rose to their feet and moved towards the door. "Captain, loyalty is an admirable quality but this time you need to check the object of your loyalty actually deserves it. He's dirty and it's just a matter of time before we bring down all three of them and anybody else they are tied in with."

Dobey watched as the two of them headed out the door. As it clicked closed behind them he furiously swiped at the stack of papers on his desk.

"Hutchinson! Where the hell are you?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Thankyou to those who take time to review. It's much appreciated as I haven't written in this genre before and it helps to know I am on track. Here's the next chapter and hopefully I won't be too long with the next one.  
><strong>

**Chapter Twelve**

_Somebody really needed to check that furnace. It was really amped up and he could feel the sweat pouring off him. For some strange reason he also felt himself shivering. His mind struggled to process what was going on with his body but all he knew was that somebody definitely needed to turn off the furnace. He called out a few times but nobody answered so he climbed up off the sofa and decided to do it himself. He just needed to find the controls._

* * *

><p>The Coast Guard search crews had been out since early morning and the captain of the <em>"Georgia" <em>leaned down to plot the last co-ordinates on his chart. He scanned the well-worn chart as he rubbed absently at his temples. Any time they set out on a search and rescue it was always with the hope that they would find their target but with the sobering knowledge that it was possible they would fail. Or be too late for it to matter. Not that his crew placed more importance on one person over another but it always grated just a little more when it was somebody from the military or emergency services or the police. One of their own.

The captain called out the final co-ordinates and watched as the bow of the vessel turned slightly to meet his command. He pulled out his binoculars again and lifted them to scan the water. He knew from the frequent radio communications that no other vessel had seen any sign of the missing officer either. It was only a matter of time before the search was called off and he prayed that they would turn up something before that happened. Best case would be that they would find the man alive but if that wasn't going to happen then he at least hoped they could pull a body from the water and give the man's family and friends some closure. After twenty two years out on the water he knew only too well what damage could be done to people left behind with no answers to their questions.

The tide was turning again since they were first called out and he knew that if the officer was still in the water, they had precious little time left to find him before he was carried out to sea. Every hour that had passed had seriously reduced the odds they would be bringing him home. He squinted into the sun as he raised the binoculars again. Somehow the sun seemed to have sunk very quickly since he last checked the time.

* * *

><p>Starsky sat and rubbed his fingers across the ridges on the back of the steering wheel. He rarely drove this car and he had often scoffed at it but right now it was a sanctuary. His partner's battered vehicle was now tucked away behind the station where Forensics had given it a thorough going over. The residue of fingerprinting dust was everywhere. He frowned as he knew how difficult it was to clean the sticky black stuff off anything but he vowed he would have Hutch's car spotless before he came to claim it. Not that it had been spotless before but that wasn't going to stop him. The vague scent of his partner's cologne hung in the air and he closed his eyes and leaned back into the seat.<p>

"Where are you? C'mon Hutch! Give me _something!_" Once again he felt a sense of foolishness at speaking to thin air but aside from his apartment this was the closest he could get to his buddy right now and the detective was drawing on anything he could grab hold of. No matter how slim it was.

His hands clenched around the steering wheel as he recalled his run-in with Simonetti and Dryden. Everything in him wanted to smash the pair of them to a pulp. If they only knew the hell his partner had been through trying to beat his forced addiction there would be no doubt about Hutch's commitment to clean up the drug pushers in his city. Of course there was no way Starsky could let them in on that little piece of information. They were already out for his partner's blood as they believed he was implicated in a case they never solved. If they knew about what Forrest had done to him his partner would be off the force. The idea of cruising the streets with someone else beside him in the Torino was so foreign that he flinched at the thought.

Starsky slowly pulled his hands away from the steering wheel and frowned at the black smudges over both hands. He rubbed his hands on his jeans before climbing back out of the car and locking the door. As he stood looking at the car his mind pulled up another image of his partner's previous car. His heart pounded in his chest at the memory of seeing the overturned vehicle from a distance and his frantic race to see if Hutch was still alive. There were no words to describe his relief as he skidded to a stop and saw slight movement.

"We made it, partner." The words rolled out of his mouth before he realised it. The words he had spoken to Hutch then had been all he could manage. The tumble of thoughts had been squashed under his profound relief.

He patted the roof of the car as he turned to walk away. "We made it then, partner! We can do it again!" Somehow the time spent in Hutch's car seemed to have revived his flagging spirits and he walked back towards the entrance with a renewed sense of hope. Hutch had already proven he was pretty good at beating the odds.

* * *

><p>Nikki stood across the street in the same spot she had been only days before. Jess was hidden behind the same stack of crates she had dropped behind when the two police officers were chasing her. The plan was pretty simple but her heart was thumping as she thought about going back into the precinct. All she had to do was drop the shield with whoever was on desk duty and tell them where she found it. They would send somebody to look there and the blonde man would be found. In the meantime she and her sister would be long gone. Simple.<p>

As she began to walk across the road, Nikki rubbed at her arms. The sun was setting and the temperature had dropped again. Definitely time to acquire some more clothes.

* * *

><p>Benson had another hour to go before his shift ended and he looked at the pile of paper still stacked on his desk. The ones on the left were completed and ready for filing while the smaller stack on the right was still awaiting further details. He pulled the top one off the pile and flicked it open. The information he needed was down in the evidence locker so he flipped it closed and headed towards the door.<p>

As he reached the bottom of the stairs he vaguely noticed a couple of people in the foyer. His mind was focussed on getting his paperwork done and getting out but he glanced up as the door opened. An elderly man walked through the door and Benson hurried over to hold the heavy door open for him. The man nodded at him in appreciation and Benson turned to keep going with his task. Something caught his eye about the kid standing near the desk and he frowned. His training meant he noted details and something about her was familiar. Suddenly he remembered having his shins kicked twice and he began to move towards her. He couldn't define what made him do it but he turned back towards the door and locked it before heading back towards her. If she was as skittish as last time it might just save his shins a few bruises.

Nikki sensed movement behind her and turned to see the same cop who had hauled her in only a few days earlier. Panic rose up in her chest as she could see he recognised her. It was a split second decision to bolt towards the door and she wasn't listening to whatever he was saying to her. For some reason the door wouldn't budge and she felt strong arms surround her from behind. She screamed in panic and began blindly kicking out. Benson was ready for her this time and pushed her against the wall so she couldn't swing her feet at him.

"It's alright! Calm down!" The rest of his words were drowned out as Nikki continued to scream. Other officers had come running at the commotion. As Starsky entered the room all he could see was Benson wresting some little hellcat at the front door. It wasn't until he got closer that he recognised the kid from the missing persons' records.

"Your mother has been looking for you. Her fiancé has gone. It's alright! You need to calm down. " Benson continued to speak and the young girl's struggles gradually reduced a little. He wasn't sure if it was that his words were sinking in or she was getting tired but either way he was grateful.

"He's dead." The words were barely more than a whisper and he wasn't sure he heard them correctly.

'Who is dead?"

"Michael! I killed him." Nikki stopped struggling and began to sob. The adrenaline rush was subsiding and the emotions were overwhelming.

Benson quickly put the pieces together and rushed to reassure the girl. "No, no, no, no! He isn't dead. Your mother found him at the foot of the stairs but he isn't dead. She got to the bottom of what really happened and has been looking for you ever since."

The girl went limp in his arms and Benson gently lowered her to the floor. He flopped down on the floor beside her while anxiously scanning her face. She looked like she could pass out at any moment.

"Nikki? That's your name isn't it?" When she didn't answer he continued on anyway. "Nikki, where is your sister?"

"What?"

"Your sister? Where is she?"

A small crowd had gathered in the foyer but Nikki was oblivious to all of them. Could it really be true? Michael wasn't dead?

"Um, she … um, she's safe." Nikki wasn't quite ready to give away her sister's location until somebody could prove it to her that her nightmare really was ending.

Starsky knelt down in front of the girl and slowly reached out a hand. "Nikki, your mother was here looking for you both. She told us about Michael. Don't worry, sweetheart. He won't be getting anywhere near either of you again. I promise! Now, hows about you tell us where your sister is and we can call your mother?"

Nikki looked up at the man crouched down in front of her. Kind eyes looked back at her and for the first time in a long time she began to feel hope again.

"She's across the street. Behind the crates."

Starsky motioned to a couple of officers and whispered instructions to go and find the girl without scaring her off. As he turned back towards the girl sitting on the floor a question suddenly came to mind.

"Nikki, why are you here?"

The girl stared at him briefly before the question finally registered with her.

"Um, this guy. He's hurt and … um … I remembered him from here the other day."

"Which guy?"

Nikki reached into her back pocket and pulled out something. Starsky grabbed at it as he realised what it was. He flipped open Hutch's ID and looked up to see Nikki watching him.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded.

"It was in his pocket." She nodded towards the photo of his partner.

"Hutch gave it to you?"

"Not exactly." Starksy could hear the nervous edge to the girl's voice.

"Why do you have my partner's shield?"

"Your _partner_?"

"Yes! He's missing! Where is he?"

Nikki blanched at the thought that she had possibly left another police officer to die.

"I can show you where we left him. That's why I came here. To hand this in so somebody could find him before … before …" Nikki began to sob again but Starsky didn't need her to finish the sentence. The dread in his stomach filled in the blank.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

_There was something really odd about the furnace controls. Somebody had moved them. They used to be on the wall near the door but they weren't there anymore. The light switch had mysteriously moved too. As he felt his way along the length of the wall his hands fumbled to make contact. He couldn't understand who could possibly have come and moved everything around. Maybe it was Starsky playing a practical joke. Yeah, that had to be it! Only he would think of something so ridiculous and manage to get into his place to arrange it._

"Starsk … what the hell have you …" The words came out in a wavering whisper as Hutch staggered out from the mouth of the tunnel. He lost his footing on the tangled overgrowth and sprawled onto the ground.

* * *

><p>Nikki looked up as the front door opened and her sister flew towards her. Jess had been escorted into the building by two officers but they made no move to stop her from reaching her sister. It wasn't until she saw her that Nikki began to think the two men with her may have been telling her the truth. She hadn't been arrested after all and just maybe they could both go home! Home was the last place she had hoped for today.<p>

Starsky watched as the two sisters embraced each other and knew that under other circumstances he would have been more interested in this reunion. Right now all he could focus on was the fact that these two girls probably knew where Hutch was. That and the fact his partner was obviously injured.

He leaned over to get Nikki's attention before starting to speak. "I need you to take me to my partner. Do you remember where he is?"

Both girls nodded but it wasn't lost on him as they exchanged a worried glance. His gut was twisting itself into knots again and he reached out a hand to each of them to pull both girls to their feet. "Then let's go!"

Starksy turned back towards Benson and quickly issued instructions. "Call the girls' mother and we'll have them back together as soon as possible. Let Dobey know what's happened but nobody else. Understood?"

"Sure, but there's plenty of guys waiting on news of Detective Hutchinson."

"Nobody but Dobey! Trust me on this will ya?"

Benson nodded as Starksy quickly herded the girls towards the parking garage. He turned back to see the small crowd slowly dispersing.

Ferretti eased back into the doorway as he watched the whole scene unfolding. He saw Starsky racing out towards the parking garage with two girls in tow. He'd been close enough to see the flash of a shield and judging by Starsky's reaction it didn't take a genius to figure out whose it was. He hadn't been close enough to hear any details though and had no way of knowing where they were headed. His own partner was nowhere to be seen and he knew he didn't have time to go and get him. Starsky would be long gone if he took the time to go and find Hanlon. Acting purely on the need for self preservation he slipped out to the parking garage and hurried to follow the Torino as it roared out onto the street.

* * *

><p>"So where did they go?" Dobey demanded.<p>

The junior officer standing before him tried not to wilt under the glare. "I don't know, Captain. Detective Starsky had a lead on Detective Hutchinson and he …"

"He didn't wait to ask for directions." Dobey shook his head in a mixture of frustration and understanding. "It's alright Benson. Just let me know how you go with the girls' mother."

As Benson turned to leave the office Dobey leaned forward in his chair and rubbed at his temples.

* * *

><p>Starksy had no reason to look behind him as he focused on following Nikki's directions. If he had bothered to look in the rear view mirror he would have picked up the black and white that was trailing him from a distance. Instead he concentrated on weaving through traffic as quickly but safely as possible, acutely aware that he was carrying two minors.<p>

The girls had already described his partner's condition and both looked frightened. He knew he wasn't getting the whole story but wasn't sure he actually wanted it.

"How long ago did you leave him?"

Jess just bit her lip but Nikki quietly responded. "Around three hours ago. It took us at least two hours just to walk here." She sounded defensive but Starksy wasn't sure if she was trying to justify it to him or to herself.

He didn't bother looking at either of them as he concentrated on driving but he could hear the waiver in her voice.

"I really didn't want to leave him there but you have to understand that we … that we were …"

"That you were scared."

Nikki squeezed her sister's hand as she tried to make eye contact with the man beside her. He steadfastly watched the traffic as it streaked past them but she needed to make him understand. Make him see that she wasn't some kind of monster who just left people to die.

"I thought if I came in that they would take Jess away. Make her go back. I couldn't let that happen!"

"'Course not. I get it. I really do. I just really need to find my partner. Make sure he's OK."

Nikki squirmed in her seat as she picked up the hint of fear in the detective's voice. She knew what it meant to love somebody and want to protect them. She looked over at her sister and realised that Jess had her eyes tightly screwed shut.

At that moment the car veered sharply to the left and swerved around another car. Despite the flashing light and siren there were some drivers that didn't seem to realise they needed to move out of the way. As the car swerved back into its lane the girls slid across the seat and Nikki was squashed against the man next to her. For a brief moment she felt fear rising in her throat and she bit her tongue. As she wriggled away from him she could see he hadn't even reacted. He really was focused on getting to the river.

Some distance back a black and white also swerved around a car and Ferretti cursed as he nearly slammed into an oncoming car. He couldn't risk putting on either lights or the siren but he also couldn't afford to lose the car he was tailing.

* * *

><p>Dobey jumped as his phone rang and he realised he had zoned out. He snatched up the receiver, expecting to hear Dispatch patching through a call from Starsky. Instead it was Benson on the line and he had to stop himself from saying what came to mind.<p>

"Alright, just let me know when she gets here. I'm guessing she won't be too happy when I have to explain where her daughters are."

The captain rubbed at the crease between his eyes as he pictured the distraught mother arriving at the station, only to be told her children were off somewhere chasing down a lead. While he could understand Starsky's impulsive move he really didn't need the added headache.

"Just bring them back in one piece!" he muttered.

Something came back at him from Benson and he shook his head.

"Not you! Just let me know when she get's here!" He dropped the phone back on its cradle and shoved his chair back from the desk. The worst part of the job was waiting. Waiting for news. Waiting for information. Waiting for relief from the fear that had gripped his heart since the phone call a lifetime ago where he first heard about blood all over a dock.

* * *

><p>The Torino skidded to a halt in the loose gravel at the edge of the road. Nikki had pointed out where to stop and Starsky leapt out of the car almost before it had stopped moving. The girls scrambled out of the passenger side door and he struggled to reign in his impatience.<p>

"C"mon! Where to?"

"Just down there. The stormwater drain."

He could just make out a concrete structure in the glare of the headlights. Starsky raced to the trunk and began rummaging around until he pulled out a flashlight. Nikki was already clambering half way down the slippery embankment when he caught up with her. His heart was pounding as he raced towards the entrance of the broken tunnel. Nikki struggled to keep pace with him and Jess trailed behind them both.

"Hutch!"

Starsky ripped at the vegetation draped over the tunnel entrance as he climbed inside. He swung the flashlight ahead of him as he raced through the dank interior.

"Huuutch!" The urgent cry echoed off the close walls.

"Wait up!"

Starsky ignored the girls behind him until Nikki managed to grab hold of his jacket. He turned abruptly to find her panting behind him.

"What?"

"He's not here."

"Whaddaya mean, 'he's not here'? Where else would he be?"

Nikki waved her arms around aimlessly. "This is where we left him. He's _not_ here."

Starsky felt the now all-to-familiar knot in his stomach as he waved the light around. "Hutch! … Hutch! … Answer me, buddy!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Thankyou as always for the kind reviews. I couldn't leave this hanging for too long myself so I got the next chapter up as soon as possible. Now I need to go and do some actual work before I get to the next one.**

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Hutch!"

Starsky swung the flashlight in a low wide arc as he walked. The area around the concrete pipe was overgrown with weeds interspersed with rough gravel.

His heart was pounding double time as he scanned the area for any sign of where his partner could have gone but the ground was too hard for footprints to show up. It had been almost fifteen minutes since he had run out of the tunnel entrance and the sense of urgency was rising.

'Huuutch! Answer me!"

He continued to swing the light back and forth as the girls paced him a few feet away on either side.

"Over there! What's that?" Starsky swung the flashlight over towards Jess to see where she was pointing. She was carefully moving forward as the light only revealed glimpses of solid ground as it swung. He raised the flashlight to scan along the line where she was pointing and suddenly he saw what had caught her attention. He could barely make out a brown leather jacket but the mop of blonde hair was unmistakable.

"Hutch!" he shouted as he ran. In seconds he skidded to a halt in the gravel and dropped to the ground. There was no movement or sound and he tentatively reached out a hand to shake his friend's shoulder. "Hutch?"

He could hear the girls right behind him and he shoved the flashlight into Jess's hands. "Hold this," he demanded as he reached out again towards his friend.

"Is he … is he alive?"

"Yeah, I think so." Starsky tried to rouse him but got no response. "Hutch. C'mon buddy." He grasped him by the arms and began to ease him over onto his back. The light angled down towards his partner and he was relieved to hear breathing but knew it sounded off. Ragged and uneven.

He was too absorbed in his partner's battered condition to be taking in anything else. If he hadn't been he may have noticed the slight crunch of gravel way off to his left. He could even have heard the soft click as the safety was switched off a handgun but he didn't notice. All he could see was his best friend's flushed face. What he did notice was that Hutch hadn't responded in any way to being moved. No cry of pain. No recognition of his partner. Nothing but shallow, rough breathing.

Ferretti melted back into the shadow and considered his options. Take out four people now and risk one of them getting away to identify him or follow them to the hospital and just take care of Hutchinson there. It didn't seem as though he was going to be doing any talking any time soon so Ferretti quickly decided on the latter.

Starsky knew how long it had taken him to get there and that was with somebody giving directions. He thought about how long it would take to get an ambulance there and quickly made a decision not to bother wasting any more time.

"He needs a hospital, fast! We have to get him back to the car. I need you to help me carry him." Neither girl moved and he raised his voice. "I need you to help me move him to the car!"

As he reached down to lift his friend from under the arms he nodded towards his feet. "Grab his legs and help me!" Nikki finally responded and reached out to lift his feet. She struggled under the weight as Starsky stood up but she quickly followed suit.

"Jess, shine the light up that way so we don't fall over."

The frightened girl hurried to do as asked and she watched as her sister grappled with her end of the load. It seemed to take forever as they half carried and half dragged the unconscious man up the slope but eventually they reached Starsky's car. Jess rushed to open the door and Starsky backed into the front seat while dragging his friend with him. It took some effort but he finally had Hutch laid out across the seat. He slid back into the driver's side and eased his friend's head down so that it rested across his thigh. He gently reached down to brush dirty, sweat-soaked hair off his face. The heat radiating back to him was frightening but he chose to focus on Hutch's breathing. As long as he drew breath Starsky could convince himself that everything would be alright.

"Hold on, Blondie. Almost there," he muttered. The girls had already clambered into the back seat and barely had time to pull the door shut before he headed back out the way they had come.

With one hand on the wheel and one hand protectively draped across his partner he raced back towards the city. Somewhere behind him a patrol car trailed along in the darkness. Ferretti struggled to see the edge of the road with no headlights but it wasn't hard to keep track of the Torino. It wasn't until the traffic picked up a little more that Ferretti felt it was safe enough to turn on his lights. He knew there were two hospitals Starsky could be heading to and he reached out to grab the radio receiver to contact his partner.

* * *

><p>Starsky patted the side of Hutch's face before reaching out for the radio receiver.<p>

"This is Zebra Three calling Central. Patch me through to Dobey."

Starsky drummed his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as he waited.

"Dobey here. What have you got?"

"I found him Cap'n. We're on our way to Memorial."

Dobey allowed himself a small smile. "What did he tell you happened?"

"Ah nothin'! He's in bad shape."

Dobey could hear the tension in Starksy's voice and didn't push it any further. "I'll let them know you're on your way and we'll meet you there."

Starsky hooked the receiver back in place and reached down again to touch his partner's face. "Hold on, just hold on," he whispered.

* * *

><p>Marjorie Lansing rushed to pick up the phone before it stopped ringing. The shrill noise echoed in the empty house and she was reminded again of just how empty her home was.<p>

"Hello."

The words echoing down the phone made her feel lightheaded and she slumped into the nearest chair. She gripped the receiver tighter as though her fragile dream could slip away from her.

"Where are they?"

She looked across the room at so many framed photographs but the tears in her eyes blurred her vision. It didn't matter though because she had spent countless hours absorbing every detail of every precious memory. The officer on the phone held out the lifeline she had only dreamed about for weeks. The mention of a hospital made her suck in a sharp breath but he assured her that they were both fine. Until she could hold both of her girls in her arms and check them out for herself she would reserve judgement on that.

"I'm on my way."

Trembling hands reached out to find her handbag and she fumbled inside for her car keys. She blew out a sharp breath and forced herself to pull it together. There was nobody else to drive her and she would not wait another minute to be reunited with her daughters. Now she just prayed that they could forgive her and want to come home.

* * *

><p>Starsky pulled into the ambulance entrance of Memorial Hospital and ignored the man waving him off. Didn't the lights and siren mean anything? Instead he wound down the window and bellowed at him, "I need help here!"<p>

He opened the door but didn't move from the driver's seat as he leaned down to reassure himself that Hutch was still breathing. As another hospital security guard headed towards him he reached into his pocket and pulled out his badge. The man took one look at it and quickly swallowed whatever comment he was going to make.

"Help me! My partner's hurt!"

It seemed that suddenly a flurry of activity erupted around him. Somebody told him he had to get out of the way but there was no way he was letting go of his partner. As a gurney was wheeled around towards him he saw a couple of orderlies at the passenger side door. He slid out of the seat and reached around Hutch's arms to slide him across the seat. One of the orderlies climbed into the passenger side and helped him move his partner out of the car. Another set of hands reached in to help and he looked up to see a doctor beside him. Somebody was asking him questions but right now all he could focus on was that Hutch was still breathing.

"Get him inside!" Starsky ran alongside the gurney, completely oblivious to the fact he had left two passengers behind. Half way towards the door he glanced back over his shoulder and saw one of the orderlies walking the two girls across towards the entrance. There was no time to think any further before the gurney was whisked in through the door. Under the sudden glare of bright lights he got his first real look at his friend.

His stomach lurched as he realised just how bad he looked. Sweat glistened off his skin and his face was flushed red. A dark dried stain spread across his stomach and there was no doubting it was blood. Before he could say anything the gurney was pushed through the double doors of the emergency room and he felt a firm hand on his chest.

He glared at the nurse who had stopped him but she wouldn't budge. "That's my partner!"

"You can't go in there. You'll need to wait over there." She nodded towards some seating but he refused to move.

"He needs me in there!"

"No, he needs the doctors right now." She softened slightly at the look on his face but she had done this too many times before. Distraught family members or friends who tried to push their way into the emergency room just got in the way.

"Please, wait over there and we'll let you know as soon as we have some news for you." She patted his chest as she stepped back through the doors.

"Is he going to be alright?" A small voice beside him shook him out of his trance.

"What?"

"I asked you if he was going to be alright."

Starsky turned to see the two girls staring at him. He could see his own fear mirrored in their faces.

"I hope so." He felt his legs buckle under him and he staggered to the nearest bench.


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the delay in posting this next bit but there are not enough hours in my days. Thankyou to my lovely reviewers and I hope you enjoy the next chapter.**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Dobey pulled open the front door of Memorial Hospital and frowned at the familiarity of the place. He had spent far too many hours there, waiting for news of one or more of his officers. He stepped back to hold the door as Marjorie Lansing stepped through, followed closely by Mark Benson. He noted that the woman was still shaking almost as much as she had been when she arrived at the precinct. He really couldn't blame her but there was no way he would allow her to drive to the hospital. Benson had driven her instead and now the young officer had her by the elbow, silently offering support. He would have smiled at the kid but right now he didn't have the energy to smile.

The captain headed straight for the desk to ask for information. He already knew where he'd be going but for the briefest moment he held out hope that maybe he was wrong. It was only a few minutes before he was heading down the same corridor he had walked far too many times before. The ER waiting area was one of his least favourite places in the city.

Marjorie was only a few steps behind him and she was grateful for the young man who steadied her as she walked. The last time she had been in a hospital it had been a frantic trip in an ambulance. Her fiancé was hovering near death and she was too distraught to consider where her daughters were. For some reason, making sense only in her panicked state, she had thought they had gone out. It wasn't until later when the police arrived and starting asking unsettling questions that she realised what they were getting at. Had one or both of the girls had anything to do with Michael's injuries?

She faltered briefly and closed her eyes. As the horrendous truth came out she knew she was the only one to blame. As she slowly opened her eyes she was confronted by Officer Benson looking intently at her.

"What if … what …" The words died on her lips. How did you ask a complete stranger if your children would ever speak to you again? If they could possibly forgive you for failing miserably as a parent?

"Ma'am, they are just through there." He pointed towards the swing doors and he could see the hesitation in her whole demeanor so he smiled at her. "It's going to be alright. Trust me."

She saw the compassion in his eyes but she had been well and truly played by another cop and it was difficult to put trust back in place. How could a young man who was barely old enough to be a father, possibly tell her that her family was going to make it through all this?

Dobey hadn't bothered to wait for them and he stepped through the door to the ER waiting room. He glanced around and quickly saw a mop of dark, curly hair buried in two agitated hands. His detective sat slumped on a bench and he hurried over towards him. Two young girls were sitting slightly away from him and they just stared at the stranger as he stopped in front of them all.

Starsky reacted to the feet in front of him and looked up, expecting to see a doctor. Somebody who could tell him what was going on behind that damned door! What exactly they were doing to his partner in there. Why they were taking so long to come and tell him Hutch was gonna pull through. The disappointment on his face was immediate and he couldn't muster the energy to try and mask it. He went to stand up but Dobey laid a calming hand on his shoulder. He clearly didn't need to ask the obvious questions.

Instead he looked across at the two girls who just huddled closer together. Neither had said a word but they both watched him warily. Before he could speak he noticed the older of the two had suddenly turned very pale. She stared past him and he heard a muffled sob coming from behind him. As the captain turned to look behind him he saw Benson firmly holding onto Marjorie's arm. She was as pale as her daughter but there was something else written across her face. As a police officer he recognised it immediately. Guilt! The poor woman looked as though she would fall over on the spot but he suddenly felt himself pushed aside as the two girls rushed towards their mother.

Starsky couldn't find the energy to get off the seat so he watched as Dobey walked towards the woman who had just entered the waiting area. It was obvious she was Jess's mother as the two were very similar in colouring and features. He watched as the three of them hesitated only briefly before dissolving into a sobbing mess. The two police officers stood back and allowed the reunion to unfold. Neither of the girls or their mother could string together a coherent sentence and there was no point trying to do anything until they had calmed down.

Dobey eventually turned back to see Starsky walking away down the corridor. He couldn't see his face but he noticed the clenched fists and hunched shoulders. He looked at his watch and noted it had been over an hour since Starsky had first arrived at the hospital. It was said that no news was good news but that was never the case in the ER. No news meant gut-twisting fears running amok. Police officers were, by their very nature, people of action. Sitting and waiting always grated on the nerves.

"You take care of this. I'll be down there," he thumbed towards Starsky's retreating back and Benson just nodded. Starsky and Hutchinson were a legendary duo around the precinct and he'd seen it for himself just how close they were. The young officer had only been partnered a short time and he wondered how it must feel for the older detective to have been searching for his missing partner, only to find him seriously injured and near death.

By the time Dobey caught up with him Starsky was still just as tightly wound. The captain reached out a hand and clamped it down on the detective's shoulder. Starsky flinched at his unexpected touch but didn't shrug off the comforting hand.

"Starsky, I need you to fill me in. What happened out there?"

Starsky paced back and forth in the small area while Dobey dropped into a nearby chair.

"I don't know!"

"Well tell me what you _do _know. Where did you find Hutch?"

"Out along the river. Some stormwater drainage area. Those kids had apparently been hiding in there since they ran away." Starsky stopped pacing for a moment but rubbed a hand through his hair, clearly still agitated.

"I think the tide dragged him in there." He resumed his pacing and kept clenching and unclenching his fists. "Somebody _shot _him!" He stopped pacing and turned to glare at his captain. "If I find it was Ferretti or Hanlon, so help me, I'm gonna …"

"You are going to let justice take its course! You're not a vigilante!" Dobey stared him down and Starsky began to pace again.

"He's my partner!" The words came out in a low hiss but the menace behind them was crystal clear. The two men stared at each other for several minutes, each caught in their own thoughts. Finally Dobey reached out a hand and grasped Starsky's arm.

"For now, he needs us back there." He pointed back down the corridor and Starsky just nodded. He was too wound up to trust himself to speak any further.

"_Yeah, he needs me. But then I'm going after the sonofabitch who did this!"_

Dobey watched without commenting as Starsky struggled to reign himself in. He knew only too well what was going through his head but for now it wasn't going to help anybody.

The two of them walked back towards the waiting area. He was surprised to see Benson sitting alone on a bench. The young officer leaped to his feet when he saw them and Starsky felt his stomach lurch.

"_Don't you give me bad news! Just get the hell away from me!"_

"Um, Captain, the girls have gone off to be checked over by a doctor. Mrs Lansing is with them and I said I'd wait here to take them home."

Dobey nodded in approval but Starsky just stared at him. "Any news on Hutch?"

"Sorry. Nothing yet."

Dobey looked at his watch again. Over an hour and a half. That couldn't be good.

"Why don't you wait here and I'll go and get us some coffees." It wasn't a question or a suggestion and Starsky knew it. He slumped onto the bench and watched as the captain went in search of caffeine.

Another fifteen minutes later the door swung open and Starsky jumped to his feet. A doctor was walking towards him while scrubbing a hand over his face and down the back of his neck. His blue scrubs were splattered in blood and Starsky cringed at the sight of it. He knew whose it was and it had no business being there.

"Are you here for Detective Hutchinson?"

"How is he?" The words tumbled out and Starsky again felt Dobey's calming hand back on his shoulder.

"Why don't you sit down?"

_Not good! So not good when they make you sit down. Stops you falling down! _

The doctor must have done this many times because he saw and recognised the panic that crossed the man's face. "I'm Doctor Monnihan. Please, sit down."

As each of them took a seat he took a deep breath. "I wish I could be bringing better news but your friend is in critical condition. It took us quite some time to stabilise him before we could send him to the OR." He decided it wasn't necessary to give the details of his patient's heart almost stopping from lack of blood volume.

"He has a slug in his abdomen which I think you knew about. The good news is that it fortunately missed any vital organs although he has lost a lot of blood. His BP was dangerously low and we had to transfuse him before we could move him anywhere. The other problem is it's been in there a long time and it seems he's been in polluted water. The wound has turned septic and the infection has spread into his bloodstream."

The doctor paused as he saw that his audience hadn't moved a muscle.

"He also has a significant amount of that same dirty water in his lungs. It's a wonder he didn't drown. Combine that with a couple of broken ribs, one of which punctured his lung and he's having some serious trouble breathing."

Starsky chewed on his lip to stop himself from saying something dumb. Something like, "is he gonna die?" He looked across at Dobey and saw the same question reflected back at him.

"He's been taken to the OR now. I'll have someone let you know as soon as we have anything new but it's going to be quite a while before he's back out."

Starsky heard Dobey saying something further but wasn't paying attention. He had already gotten up and began to walk back down the corridor. He had no idea where he was going or why but he just felt the need to move. For some reason stillness equaled death. Movement equaled life. He closed his eyes to try to squeeze out the image of how still Hutch had been when he found him. The pain reflex was deeply ingrained and his partner hadn't so much as twitched the whole time he was being jostled and dragged back to the car. Yes, movement equaled life and Starsky suddenly felt the need to run.


	16. Chapter 16

**Well this took a little longer than I hoped but I've been a bit brainfried with a head cold. **

**Chapter Sixteen**

_A voice floated past him in the darkness. He had no idea what the voice was saying but it persisted. Something about it tugged at the recesses of his mind. He knew that voice. If only he could remember where he knew it from. Or even who it was. The words washed over him like liquid but they had no substance. His mind tried desperately to grasp onto them but the liquid quickly ebbed away. It was too hard. Each time he tried to reach up to grab hold of the words something else was there too. His mind couldn't define what it was but his body recoiled from it and pulled him back into the darkness. It was just too hard to climb out._

The monitor traced out a steady pattern across the screen that rose and fell rhythmically. Starsky stared at the little green light that showed the continuous beating of his friend's heart. It felt as though if he looked away, somehow Hutch's heart may stop. He knew he was being irrational but it didn't mean he could shake the fear.

It wasn't until Hutch had finally made it out of surgery that Starsky had really allowed himself to put together the full story in his head. Doctor Monnihan had mercifully only given them the basics when he first spoke to them in the waiting room. Blood loss from his gunshot wound had meant Hutch's blood pressure was so low his heart could barely keep working. The long delay in the ER was solely because the medical staff had to keep pumping blood back in to replace what had been lost. There was no way he could have made it through surgery without the transfusion first.

The slug that had caused so much trouble was now off somewhere in the hands of a forensics officer and Starsky knew it was just a matter of time before the type of weapon was identified. Then God help whoever it belonged to. He felt his stomach clenching as he thought about what he would do once he found them. Dobey might have said he wasn't a vigilante but right now he wasn't so sure about that. If Hutch didn't make it out of the hospital then his partner knew there were no guarantees.

While Starsky continued to stare at the screen he could hear his friend's ragged breathing. A chest tube was draining fluid from his lungs but that didn't mean it was easy for him to breathe yet. Inflammation from the dirty water meant every breath was an effort. The oxygen flowing through the mask was helping and in a way it comforted Starksy to see each breath condense and evaporate. It helped to confirm for him that there was still life there. Starsky figured it was a mercy that he was still unconscious because at least then Hutch didn't have to deal with the pain of his injuries.

It was second nature for the two of them to seek physical connection in good times and in bad and Starsky had a firm grip on his partner's hand. It felt somehow brittle, as if the strength that was normally there had seeped away. Every time he squeezed it there was no response.

"I'm here, buddy." The words were only a whisper but it seemed there was nobody to hear them anyway. He knew it was said that unconscious patients could hear but Starsky wasn't entirely convinced of that. He had been repeating the same thing over and over in various ways and so far he'd seen no indicator that anything he was saying was getting through. He finally dragged his eyes away from the monitor and looked closely at his friend's face. He felt his chest constrict and his breath caught in his throat. The last time he had seen Hutch so gripped with fever had been when he was infected with the plague. Two days of hell, watching his friend deteriorate rapidly from strong and healthy to barely a breath away from death's door. Others hadn't been so lucky.

"You made it through that, Blondie. You can make it through this." He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Hutch or himself.

It had been close.

Way too close.

If it hadn't have been for Callendar handing himself in and the doctors using his blood to produce a serum then they wouldn't be sitting here now. Starsky closed his eyes and gripped his friend's hand tighter as a wave of emotion threatened to drop him on the floor. He had never admitted to anybody that he thought he was going to lose his partner that day. Instead he had told everybody that Callendar would call them. The same panic he had felt then was nipping at the edges of his mind again and he tried to push it aside.

He opened his eyes again and forced himself to breathe slowly. "You ain't goin' nowhere. You hear me? You can't!"

* * *

><p>Captain Dobey stood just outside the door and watched. Doctor Monnihan had filled them both in but he wasn't sure that Starsky had been fully listening. He was itching to get to his partner's side and had just nodded at whatever the doctor had said. But the captain had heard every word he'd said. Major blood loss from the gunshot wound. Broken ribs and severe bruising. Serious inflammation of the lungs coming so soon after the plague. Two days of being cold and wet. Two days for the infection to take hold in his bloodstream. A fever-induced temperature of 104 that apparently wasn't taking any notice of the antibiotics.<p>

If sheer strength of will was the deciding factor then it was no contest. But Dobey knew better than that. He swallowed down his fear and stepped into the room.

"… … You hear me? You can't!"

Dobey caught the tail end of Starsky's words but he knew what he meant. He suppressed a shudder at the thought of what would happen to Starsky if Hutch didn't make it through this. Instead he walked over and laid a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"You need some rest."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, sure you are!"

He knew there was no point arguing but he had to at least try. He reached out to pull in a chair and sat down heavily on the far side of the bed. For the next few minutes he didn't say anything. He glanced around the room and realised that he actually knew what all the equipment was for. The legacy of too many visits to too many hospital rooms for too many injured officers. Somehow the two in front of him seemed to top that list by too big a gap. The captain noted the look on Starsky's face and sighed. Whenever one of them was in trouble, the other one was as well.

"Starsky, you need some rest. You've barely slept in days." He knew he was treading a fine line but Dobey wasn't easily intimidated.

"I'm fine! Not goin' anywhere 'til … until … I'm not goin' anywhere!" Starsky stared back defiantly.

"He's got the best doctors and nurses and there'll be a 24 hour guard on the door. You need some rest."

"A guard on the door? Who?"

"Barnett. I called him in myself. He'll be here shortly. And I hand picked the rest of the detail. Nobody is getting near him."

"I know that Captain because they'd have to get past me first!"

Dobey slowly nodded. "Kinda guessed you'd say that. At least go and get something to eat and I'll stay here while you are gone."

When the other man made no effort to move the captain tried again. "Starsky?"

"Not hungry."

"Starsky you aren't much use to him if you keel over from lack of rest or food. Or both!"

Eventually he looked up. "Captain … when I finally found him I thought … … I thought I was too late. Those great doctors you mentioned … … well they can only do so much. I just gotta make sure that … that …" The words trailed away and Dobey just nodded.

"I know. Well then at least let me bring you something to eat."

When he got no reply he stood up and headed for the door anyway. Out in the hallway a cleaner slowly moved past the room with a large mop and bucket. He glanced into the room to see if the other officer was going to leave as well but it was soon clear he wasn't going anywhere. The cleaner continued on down the hallway but once he was around the corner he picked up his bucket and hurried away.


	17. Chapter 17

**I know you asked for Hutch to wake up in this chapter and I honestly tried but he's a little stubborn. Thankyou as always to those who take time to review.  
><strong>

**Chapter Seventeen**

Captain Dobey leaned back in his chair and tried to stifle the intense irritation he was feeling. The two IA officers sitting in front of him somehow managed to push every button he had. He had barely caught any sleep the night before after leaving the hospital and his usual patience limit had long since come and gone. He had hoped to get an early start when he came in to work but two of his least favourite people had blown that plan completely out of the water. Instead he was caught up in an ongoing argument that didn't show any sign of going away any time soon. If it wouldn't spell the end of both of their careers he would have told IA all about Hutch's forced addiction and subsequent cold-turkey withdrawal under Starsky's patient supervision. He knew there was absolutely no way that Hutchinson could ever have anything to do with the drug trade after that but how did he get IA off his back without spilling their secret? His piece of steadfast proof may be the nail in their coffin if Simonetti or Dryden got hold of it.

"You _can't_ be serious!"

Simonetti stared back at him and calmly nodded. "_Very_ serious, Captain. Nothing you have told us so far has cleared Detective Hutchinson from involvement and we still want to interview him."

"Nothing has cleared his name! The man has a bullet hole in his gut! Do ya think he put that there himself?"

Dryden leaned back in his seat and smiled. "It wouldn't be the first time that one criminal turned on another when the going got tough."

"Criminal! Now you just listen here, Dryden! You can't come in here and start throwing accusations around against my men. You had no proof to start with that Hutchinson was dirty and now you are just clutching at straws trying to keep up your vendetta against him!"

"Captain, I assure you this is no vendetta. We have good reason to believe that Hutchinson in involved here and we won't be stopping until we have turned over every stone."

The words came out smoothly and calmly and Dobey struggled to keep calm himself. "So when you find the truth, I expect you'll be making a full apology."

Simonetti stood up and leaned over the desk. Dryden was only a heartbeat behind him and Dobey glared at the both of them. "When we uncover the truth, Captain … … we _will_ be making arrests. As many as necessary."

The two men stalked out the door and Dobey slammed a hand on his desk. He couldn't understand what it was about Hutchinson that had these two so determined to nail him. If the man wasn't still lying unconscious in a hospital bed he could at least begin to defend himself from their ridiculous charges. Instead, he guessed that was going to be up to him.

Dobey reached across his desk and flipped open the duty roster. He ran a finger down the side of the sheet until he found what he was looking for. Ferretti and Hanlon were both off duty until tomorrow. He dropped the folder on the desk as he reached for the phone.

* * *

><p>The nursing shift was due to change in another half hour and Angie made one last sweep of her ward before heading for the locker room. It was quiet and she had long ago learned to walk quietly so as not to wake up sleeping patients. As she stepped into the end room she could make out a mess of brown curls half buried under an arm and a hospital issue blanket. She knew that the man underneath had spent the night alternating between pacing and sitting by the bed. One of the other night nurses had brought him a mug of tea around 2am.<p>

As a nurse she had seen many patients come and go over the years. Most of them left the hospital, more or less in one piece. A few of them left, knowing that they would never be whole again. Some of them didn't … well … some of them just … it didn't matter what anybody said because those were the ones that always felt like she had failed somehow. As she moved over towards the bed she could see her newest patient was still in the unsure category.

"Good morning, Detective," she whispered. "And how are we feeling this morning?"

She moved around towards the monitors and checked the current readout. Her patient's BP had finally stabilised but his heart rate was still too high. His temperature had climbed a little during the night and Angie knew the doctors would have to review the meds. The antibiotics weren't doing enough, quickly enough. She walked over to the sink and returned with a damp cloth and a bowl of tepid water to begin to wipe the sheen of sweat from his face. Strands of fine, blonde hair were plastered down the side of his head.

On the other side of the bed the mop of curls began to stir and then suddenly shot bolt upright.

"What's the … oh … sorry."

Angie looked across into red-rimmed eyes that held a hundred questions and silently pleaded for answers. The _right _answers.

"It's alright. I'm just checking his vitals before I clock off my shift."

"How's he doin'?"

"He's had a rough night."

_And so have you._

Starsky just nodded at her. It had definitely been a rough night. As the anasthetic wore off Hutch had become quite agitated. Whether it was the pain or his fever or a combination of the two, Starsky had watched helplessly as his friend had suffered. Only hours before he had begged him to move and show some signs of life but during the course of the night he had wished he could retract those words.

As he reached out to grip his friend's hand again, the heat coming from his fingers told him all he needed to know.

"How's his temp?"

"Still too high but the doctor will review the medication when he does his rounds. The spongebaths help a little too."

Starsky just nodded. He could feel the tremors through Hutch's hand. He didn't need to be a doctor to know that a sustained high temperature was a major problem. He watched as the nurse pulled down the sheet a little further and continued sponging down her patient.

A strip of bandaging was closely wrapped around his broken ribs and ugly bruising spread in both directions away from it. A wide swathe of bandage covered the gunshot wound but tendrils of discolouration above it marked the extent of the infection. Starsky just stared as he could see that they had spread since last night like some kind of malignant spider web. He swallowed down his fear and smiled at his friend.

"Hey buddy. Do you have any idea that you are being given the onceover by a cute nurse?" He smiled at the thought but it quickly faded. "You want me to get her number for you?"

Angie smothered a laugh as she continued. "Cute! I'm nearly old enough to be his _mother_!"

Starsky glanced across at her and smiled. "So?"

She made a pretense of throwing the cloth at him before reaching down to pull up the sheet. "Doctor Monnihan will be in soon."

Starsky just nodded at her as she quietly left the room. He listened to the same sounds of ragged breathing that he had been hearing all night. Rattling breath drawn through an oxygen mask. Every so often it seemed as though Hutch was trying to say something underneath the plastic mask but it was just incoherent noises. Muttered ramblings produced by a fevered mind.

_The voice wrapped itself around his mind like a warm blanket. The words still held no meaning but the voice somehow brought comfort. He still had no clue who the voice belonged to. Each time he tried to climb up towards the words he felt something else pulling him back. The closer he got to the surface, the worse the pain got. He felt like he was on fire. His body objected to going there and he felt an internal tug-of-war going on between his mind and his body. Find the voice and suffer the pain or float away and feel nothing. He knew the voice was more important but he just couldn't get his body to comply. Instead he tried calling out to the voice. Help me! I need you to help me! He had no idea what he needed the voice to do but he was certain the voice would know._

* * *

><p>Ferretti stared at the dregs of his coffee as swirled his mug. "So what the hell do we do now?"<p>

Hanlon chewed on his bottom lip. "We have to make sure he doesn't get to talk to anybody. From what our friend said he isn't conscious yet so we still have a bit of time."

"But how long will that last?"

"Dunno. Our bigger problem is access. Dobey stuck a guard on the door and it sounds as though Starsky isn't even leaving the room. Maybe you should have finished the job out at the river."

Ferretti just glared across the table. "Well maybe _you_ should have done the job right in the first place!"

Hanlon swallowed down a retort since both of them had missed opportunities.

"Then I guess we need a way to get Starsky and the guard dog out of the way first. Hutchinson is _not _going to live long enough to identify any of us! I'll be damned if I am going to prison for him or anybody else."


	18. Chapter 18

**Thankyou as always to everybody who takes time to review. It's very much appreciated.**

**OK I have decided that Hutch is a very stubborn man. Apparently he's enjoying having his little nap.**

**Chapter Eighteen**

"I'll be right back, buddy." Starsky leaned over to pat Hutch's arm before heading for the door. As much as he didn't want to be walking out of the room, there was no way he was going to allow Dryden or Simonetti anywhere near his partner for as long as he could manage. The two ghouls had barely agreed to wait in the hallway and it was only because the nurse had gone into bat for him and said Hutch wasn't to be disturbed. Starsky had almost kissed her but had managed to restrain himself. Somehow he didn't think it would help his case.

He glanced across at the officer stationed on guard duty and nodded at him. Dobey had been true to his word and had hand picked five officers that he trusted and had put them on a rotating roster. Starsky had seen his list and had agreed with his choices. Each of them had worked with the two detectives in scenarios where they had proven their trust for each other. Not that he planned on going anywhere but it was comforting to know that there was another person watching Hutch's back.

Simonetti and Dryden stood across the hall and it seemed as though Dobey had placed himself between them and Hutch's door. If Starsky had his way they wouldn't have even made it into the hospital. He squashed down his distaste and walked towards the two of them.

"So, what have you got? Who shot my partner?"

"We're not entirely sure yet who he had a falling out with but we are getting closer."

"A _falling out! _Do you have to be a moron to work for IA or are we just extra lucky to get you two?"

"Starsky!"

Dobey may have agreed with the question but he wasn't about to let his detective dig an even deeper hole than they were already in. While ever Simonetti and Dryden were after Hutchinson, Starsky was definitely on their radar too. The two were a package deal and nobody could possibly think one of them was in on something and the other didn't know about it. If one was dirty, both were. While Dobey had no qualms about that idea, he knew what the two IA officers thought.

"It's alright Captain. We have been called worse."

"I'll just bet you have!" Starsky sneered. "So, back to my question. When are you two going to see what's in front of your faces and back off? Hutch got_ shot_! Most likely by a drug runner! You have the bullet, the forensics report, the make of the gun, Hutch's gun, which hadn't been fired by the way and you are seriously telling me you still suspect Hutch of somehow being involved!"

"As you said, his gun wasn't discharged. Seems he knew whoever was firing at him or he would have been more inclined to shoot back. Let me spell it out for you, Detective. Your partner has a past history of being less than forthcoming with Internal Affairs investigations. There was not a convincing case for his complete innocence in the whole incident with his ex-wife and …"

"What! Are you still claiming he had something to do with Vanessa's murder? That case was _closed! _Remember?"

"He was cleared of her murder but the whole issue prior to that with the missing 70K stone? Still a little murky for us." Dryden calmly stared at Starsky.

Dobey stepped a little closer towards his hot-headed detective because he could see a clenched fist forming. Last time it had been Simonetti on the receiving end but it was looking like his partner may be in the firing line this time.

"Starsky." The voice was low and calm but the look was deadly serious.

_Back off!_

"You weren't there when the stone first went missing. You were in the hospital, _remember_?"

"Dryden, I don't need you or anybody else telling me where I was or wasn't!" Starsky began to pace across the hallway and back again. If he couldn't hit the guy then he had to burn off the frustration somehow. "So now Hutch is guilty of something because he didn't get to shoot back! Ever been caught by surprise, Dryden?"

Starsky continued to pace back and forth while glaring at the two officers. "Oh, wait! Of course you have! When Hutch and I handcuffed you to the table. Is that what this is about? The fact we got the jump on you? Cos it was _me_ who did that. Not Hutch!"

Simonetti stepped closer and forced Starsky to stop his pacing. "You think we are that petty? Detective, you and your partner have a long track record of unorthodox actions and questionable decisions. You said it yourself, you handcuffed Dryden to a table and left. You had been ordered to bring your partner in on a murder rap. Instead the two of you decided to play cowboys."

Starsky inhaled sharply. "_You _believed my partner was guilty and nothing we said was going to convince you otherwise. Instead we took action and solved the case. Maybe we are a little unorthodox but we get results! _Accurate_ ones."

Simonetti licked his lower lip as if considering his next words carefully. "Unorthodox, definitely. I don't doubt your stats. What I question is how often does unorthodox spill over into illegal?"

Dobey pushed himself in between the two men. "Simonetti, if you have something to say, then _say_ it. Otherwise I suggest you get back to your investigation."

"Alright, Captain. Maybe Starsky could explain to us why his partner's doctor won't administer morphine, despite the level of pain he is suffering? We've checked his records and he isn't allergic."

Starsky stared at the cold eyes in front of his face. His heart seemed to have dropped into his stomach and he had to force himself not to answer.

He stepped closer but Dobey clamped a hand on his shoulder.

They knew!

Despite everything, they knew!

"I'm not a doctor. Now if you are done, I'm going back to see how Hutch is. Let me know when you have something worth telling me." He turned and began to walk back towards the door. Just before entering he stopped and turned back again. "Like, who shot my partner and what cell you are holding them in!"

* * *

><p>Starsky stood by the side of the bed and tried to shake off the fury that was threatening to overwhelm him. What Forrest had done to Hutch had been nothing short of deliberate torture. The two days of agonising withdrawal had taken its toll on both of them and Huggy. Starsky knew there was absolutely no way that his partner could <em>ever<em> have any input towards putting anybody else through the same kind of hell. He would have bet his life on it.

"So how do they think they can use this against you?" The words had tumbled out before he could stop them. "God, Hutch! They are going to nail you to the wall!"

_Oh man! Do they think he's an addict?_

_Somewhere in the darkness the voice drifted in again. Only this time it didn't seem to bring comfort. It sounded angry. Was it angry because he couldn't respond? He was trying but it was like trying to swim through syrup. If the voice would just stay put he might be able to latch onto it. Like a lifeline. He had nearly made it before but the voice went away. Was that because it was angry with him? Just stay still. Please! Wait for me._

Starsky finally slumped down into the chair and reached out for Hutch's hand. The heat was still there. The tremors hadn't eased up either. While Doctor Monnihan had changed the antibiotics and something else that he couldn't recall right now, Starsky knew it would take some time for them to take effect. What worried him more was that Hutch may not want to wake up to the reality he was facing. The day that Dobey took his partner's badge while he was investigated for Vanessa's murder was etched into his memory. If IA took his badge permanently then there was …. there was … Starsky shook his head in frustration.

"They are not taking you down! I don't care what they think they have. They are _not_ taking you down! Hutch, you gotta wake up for me and help me here. Simonetti and Dryden are gonna crucify you. Come on, buddy. _Please_, wake up! I know that you know who did this. You gotta help me stop them!"

_The voice was still angry but something had softened. He felt the lifeline dangling within his grasp and he struggled to grab hold of it. He knew that voice. The words were beginning to resolve themselves into some kind of sense._

_Buddy. _

_He knew that word. Help me! Stay still so I can grab hold of you._

* * *

><p>Dobey stood in the hallway and stared at the retreating backs of the two IA officers. As they stepped into the lift he let out a slow breath. He had honestly thought Starsky was going to lose it and let Dryden have it. He wouldn't have blamed him if he had.<p>

At the time he had only had the broad details of what was going on in Huggy's upstairs room but later Starsky had filled him in. Mostly. He knew that he had withheld some details but he'd been around the block a few times. He knew that a friend was holding back the hurt of what another friend had done. It didn't take a genius to know that Hutch would have said some things during his withdrawal that Starsky wouldn't want to share. Desperation can push people to say and do things that are out of character and there are few more desperate things than the cravings of a drug addict. It would have been ugly.

He knew what was happening and had sanctioned it. Starsky made a choice to protect Hutch's career and he had backed it. As he stood in the hospital corridor and stared at the lift door he wondered if he had made the wrong choice. If he had insisted Starsky take his partner to hospital and they had dealt with the consequences then would IA be trying to string him up now?


	19. Chapter 19

**Thankyou for the kind reviews. I have finally managed to get through to our big blonde! Well, Starsky did apparently.**

**Chapter Nineteen**

Starsky stood up as he heard movement outside the door. Ever since his altercation with Dryden and Simonetti he had been on edge. Dobey had promised to keep them at bay but he knew that was a limited promise. IA could really do what they pleased.

Ray Harrison pushed the door open and Starsky could see Huggy standing behind him. "It's alright, Harrison, let him in."

The officer on guard duty just nodded and stepped back to allow Huggy to enter the room.

"What's with the bouncer on the door?" he thumbed towards Harrison as the door closed behind him.

"I need some extra help covering Hutch. Somebody tried to kill him once already and I'm not so sure they aren't done tryin'!"

Huggy just nodded as he headed towards the bed. "How's our brother doin'? He don't look so good."

"Yeah." Starsky moved around to the other side of the bed and dropped back into the chair.

Huggy settled himself into the chair of his side and waited. Starsky looked exhausted.

Between them, both men could hear the rasping noise as Hutch still struggled to draw breath. Huggy watched as Starsky did what he always did when he was stressed; reached out for his partner. To anybody who knew them it was common to see them make physical contact. Both men drew strength from each other but right now Huggy could see that Hutch needed all the help he could get. And as he watched he realised that Starsky wasn't too far behind.

"So? What'd the docs say?"

"They're still tryna get his temperature down. The infection from the bullet is pretty bad. Um, they also put a tube thing in to get the water out of his lungs but he still can't breathe right. Coupla broken ribs too."

Starsky leaned forward in his seat. The last time he'd seen his partner look this bad was just before they had gotten Callendar's blood. The plague had nearly killed him and yet Hutch had held on.

"C'mon Cap'n Marvel. Time to pull it out of the bag again. You hear me? Huggy's here and we need you to wake up."

_The voice was back and this time it was calm again. The anger from before had dissipated and he could feel something else instead. _

_Another voice chimed in. He knew that he knew this one too but the fog just wouldn't clear enough._

"Hey Hutch. It's time for you to open your eyes and let Starsky here get some rest. He looks like hell, man!"

"Hug!"

"What? You do!"

_Starsky! That was the name his brain had been trying so desperately to drag up to the surface. Starsky. The lifeline he'd been trying to grab hold of had finally stood still long enough for him to grasp it._

Starsky closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand across his face. Scratchy stubble rubbed against his fingers and he briefly wondered how long it had been since he had been home. He suddenly realised he had no idea. Huggy was right. He felt like hell so he was pretty sure he looked like it too.

He yawned and almost missed the flutter of a finger against his hand. It was enough though. He stared at his partner's hand, wrapped tightly in his own.

"Do that again," he breathed.

"Do what?" Huggy asked.

"Not you. I think Hutch just moved his hand." As Huggy leaned forward and stared, Starsky silently willed his partner to respond.

_Do that again._

_Yeah, sure._

_Don't you know how hard it was the first time?_

"C'mon buddy. I know you're there. You just gotta show me!"

_Show you?_

_I'm trying! _

_The lifeline moved slightly in his hand and he desperately willed his fingers to move._

"Did you see that?" Starsky almost leapt off the seat. "Huggy?"

As the two of them stared there was a faint movement of a couple of fingers. They barely brushed across Starsky's thumb but it was enough.

"Hutch! Told you that Cap'n Marvel could do it! Now you just gotta open your eyes."

Underneath the plastic oxygen mask Starsky could hear the faint mutter of something. He gently eased it up and leaned closer.

"I missed that one, buddy. Say it again."

"Starsk." It was barely more than a whisper.

"Right here! I'm right here, buddy."

Starsky squeezed his friend's hand again and waited. Finally he realised that was all he was going to get. It didn't matter though because Hutch was on his way back.

* * *

><p>Ferretti paced across the living room of his apartment. "Dobey's got too many men on the door. We don't have a way to get past them. They all know us and it's too suspicious for either of us to turn up there."<p>

"What about Forbes?"

"Well as long as he can stay under the radar we can still use him but it's risky sending him back in. We have to have a concrete plan and get him in and out as fast as possible. We'll only get one chance."

Hanlon just nodded. Nobody had noticed the cleaner last time but since then Dobey had brought in the guards. Now he had to get past at least two highly trained police officers and get back out without being caught.

"There can't be any trail back to us. Dobey is already nosing around and Starsky was definitely getting suspicious."

"I guess we are just going to be retiring sooner than we planned. It's too hot to continue here but we need to tie up loose ends first."

"Agreed! If Hutchinson hadn't stuck his nose in where it wasn't wanted then we'd still have an open run. He's gonna pay for cutting it short!"

"I think I've got an idea but we are gonna need to ask the syndicate for something to help pull it off."

Hanlon looked at his partner and waited. Asking the syndicate for anything wasn't ever a good idea. They were both already at risk for having messed up the supply run with the unexpected arrival of a Bay City detective but if the syndicate knew he had survived, then the risk just rose exponentially. The financial benefits of their partnership had been too good to refuse, especially when compared to the meagre income of a cop and then a pathetic pension. And then one stupid, blonde idiot had lumbered into their operation.

"What are you going to ask them for?"

"Dust."

"What? What are you gonna do with angel dust?"

"You got any ideas on how to quickly get two officers out of the way without shooting them?"

Ferretti stood still and waited for his partner to catch up. Anybody bringing a gun into the hospital would only get to the guard and definitely wouldn't get anywhere near Starsky before he was alerted.

"But dust? What do you have in mind?"

"That's where Forbes comes in."

"I'm listening."

Ferretti leaned forward and dropped his voice. Not that anybody was listening in but he knew that if they followed through with what he was about to give voice to they had definitely reached the point of no return.

Hanlon leaned in as well and quietly nodded as his partner outlined his plan. Desperate times called for desperate measures and he knew they were almost backed into a corner.

Suddenly Hanlon snapped his fingers. "We don't need to go to the syndicate. Let's try the evidence locker first!"

Ferretti just nodded. "Last week's bust will have been catalogued but should still be in there." His mind was racing with possibilities. "Alright, so we check it out. If all else fails we call the syndicate."

Hanlon smiled. "Get Forbes on the phone. Tell him we've got a job for him. Good pay. And make sure he knows this isn't an optional job. He owes us for the other night."

* * *

><p>Huggy stretched as he stood up. He had been sitting for too long in one position and his legs weren't responding kindly to it. It had been over two hours since Hutch had reacted to his friends. Starsky seemed to have settled in again and was showing no sign of leaving. Huggy knew there was no way he was going anywhere until he knew for sure that his partner was out of danger.<p>

"You want me to go by your place and get you some fresh threads?"

"Huh?"

"Do you think you might wanna take a shower and get yourself into some clean clothes? Because, quite frankly, you've smelled better."

Starsky pulled a face as he lifted his left arm. "I guess I could do with some clean stuff. And maybe a razor too? Thanks Hug." He smiled as Huggy headed for the door.

Starsky glanced at his watch and was shocked to see it was already early evening. His stomach was reminding him it hadn't been fed in a while. He stood up and began to stretch out the kinks. As he walked towards the window he looked back over at his partner and smiled.

"Hey Hutch. I'm calling out for pizza. You want some?"

He hadn't expected anything back and was stunned to see his partner's hand move towards the oxygen mask and tug at it.

"No 'chovies."

"Hutch!"

He rushed back to the bed and grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed it. "Hutch? You still there?"

"Where'm I?"

"You're in the hospital, buddy. S'OK. You're safe."

"Mmm. No st'pid fish. Hate'm."


	20. Chapter 20

**If you have ever read any of my stories you know I don't like to make it too easy on anybody. The more I like a character, the more I tend to beat them up. Sorry for holding out false hope but if it's any consolation I am on a roll and the next chapter shouldn't be too far away. Thankyou again to the lovely reviewers. You make my day :-)**

**Chapter Twenty**

Jackson Forbes stared at the phone in his hand. He could hear the dial tone and knew he needed to hang it back up but he wasn't sure he wanted to. As soon as he put it down he would have to decide whether or not to pick it back up again.

Finally he dropped the receiver on the cradle and threw himself back onto the bed. He scrubbed both hands through his hair and stared at the ceiling.

"Someone is gonna kill me!" He closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing. Huggy Bear's warning was ringing in his ears.

_Tell Starsky the minute you have something or he said he will hunt you to the ends of the Earth._

"Just a question of who gets to me first really. The cops or the syndicate! Or the cops who work for the syndicate!" He laughed bitterly at the last comment.

On the other end of the disconnected phone line Ferretti stared at his partner. "Well?"

Hanlon nodded. "He's in. Not like he has any choice really. We just need to organise a meeting time and place to give him the dust."

* * *

><p>Starsky pulled his shirt over his head then grabbed the towel and began drying his damp hair again. Finally he draped the towel around his neck, gathered up his things and headed back towards Hutch's room. He appreciated the favour and it definitely felt good to be clean again but the hot water in the nurse's showers had done nothing to relieve the tension across his shoulders. He knew that until Ferretti and Hanlon and whoever was with them were caught he was just not going to relax at all. He walked back through the hospital with a wariness born of too many years on the streets. That same wariness had saved his life more times than he could count.<p>

As he arrived back at Hutch's door he saw John McFarlane reading the newspaper. He knew the man was watching as carefully as he was and he probably hadn't absorbed a single word of news.

"Has the candy striper been yet?"

"No but she shouldn't be too far away? You want me to get you a coffee?"

"Yeah, thanks." Starsky continued through the door and dropped his things on a nearby chair. He unwrapped the towel and slung it over the back of the chair.

As he headed towards the bed he could see that Hutch was finally awake again and watching him approach.

"Welome back!" he grinned.

Hutch tugged at the oxygen mask.

"Thought you were getting me a pizza." The words came out with great effort and Starsky tried not to show he had noticed.

"Yeah, well I was but you decided to take another nap. I ate it all!"

Hutch just smiled at him.

"_Including_ the anchovies!"

"You can have those. Disgusting things."

"_You_ eat decimated liver and blackboot molasses and have the nerve to call my anchovies disgusting!"

"_Dessicated_ liver. And _blackstrap_ molasses."

"Whatever. At least anchovies qualify as real food. Not sure what you call liver but it ain't real food in my book."

Hutch began to laugh at his partner's facial expression but suddenly began to cough. As he did so the pain across his chest exploded and he grabbed hold of a chunk of sheet.

"Easy! Easy there. Take it easy." The words seemed so useless in the face of his partner's obvious distress but he couldn't do anything else to relieve it. He could only watch as Hutch's face grew redder with each cough and a sheen of sweat quickly spread across his forehead.

Starsky reached out for the distress button and pressed it while trying to hold Hutch still. He knew the nurse wouldn't be far away but however long she took it was too long. Hutch tried to stifle the cough but the effort was too much and he felt like he was choking and unable to breathe. Panic flared in his eyes and Starsky tried desperately to calm him.

"It's OK, Hutch, look at me! It's OK. You just gotta breathe. You can do that. Just breathe. Slow. Look at me. C'mon buddy, you can do this."

As Starsky rattled on with whatever came to mind he could see Hutch was trying to focus on him. The coughing began to subside a little but the pain hadn't eased at all. He still had a hold of the sheet in white-knuckled hands as though he could squeeze out the pain. Starsky grabbed hold of the nearest hand and tried to untwist it from the sheet. Before he could manage that a doctor arrived, followed closely by a nurse.

She took one look at the situation and quickly moved in. She moved the oxygen mask back into place and began speaking calmly and soothingly towards her patient.

The doctor was one Starsky hadn't seen before but the nurse had been on the shift the night before.

"I'm going to get you something for the pain. I just need you to take slow breaths and calm it down for me. You can do that, Ken."

She looked across at Starsky and smiled a reassuring smile. "I'll be right back with some pain relief."

Hutch looked panicked at the mention of pain relief.

"S'OK. They aren't giving you anything you can't have. Don't worry buddy. We got it covered."

The nurse remained and continued to monitor Hutch's pulse, which was going through the roof. It seemed an eternity before the doctor came back but Starsky continued to hold his partner still, to try and stop him hurting himself any further. She stuck a syringe into the IV and Starsky watched as it quickly took effect. Hutch's face seemed to relax a little as the drug began to take the edge off. His grip on the sheet loosened and Starsky watched as his eyes drooped closed.

"Easy buddy."

"That should keep him out for a few hours."

Starsky looked back at the doctor and frowned. "How often is that gonna happen?"

"It's hard to say. He is going to be experiencing high levels of pain for a while yet. Trying not to exacerbate it is the key. Any kind of movement aggravates his ribs, so while he is asleep we will be strapping them again."

He just nodded as he dropped back into the chair again.

"A few hours you reckon?"

'Definitely."

"T'riffic! I needed to talk to him. Guess it's just gonna have to wait."

The doctor finished writing something on the chart and they both headed towards the door. "Maybe you could try getting some sleep too?"

"Yeah, later. Thanks."

* * *

><p>It was over half an hour later when Starsky heard a sharp rap on the door. He looked up to see McFarlane standing there with a young lady waiting behind him.<p>

"Wanna a coffee, Starsky?"

"Sure."

"With the usual six sugars?" he grinned.

"Funny! One'll do."

He walked toward the door and took the proffered cup from the woman who had brought him many such cups over the last few days.

"Thanks, Mandy."

She smiled at him and passed him a couple of chocolate cookies as well.

"A balanced diet,"

McFarlane swiped a couple more off the trolley. "S'better than the usual rubbish you eat."

"McFarlane, I've got one health nazi nagging me already. Don't need another one." He faltered slightly at his own words but plastered on a smile.

"Whatever you say," McFarlane grinned as he closed the door.

Starsky headed back towards the bed and sat down. He placed the mug of coffee and half the cookies on the bedside table while he chewed on the other two together.

"OK buddyboy! Enough with the beauty sleep. I need answers and I need 'em from you. So wake up!"

He wasn't expecting a response but he paused anyway.

"You hear me? Enough with this 'I'm knocked out on painkillers' crap! I need answers. Pronto!"

Starsky grabbed at the coffee mug and took a long swig. He needed all the help he could get in staying awake.

"Hutch?"

"OK well if you ain't gonna talk to me I'm gonna lay it out for you. You just jump in whenever you think I've missed something."

He leaned back in the chair and put both feet up on the side of the bed. "I think you got some kind of tipoff the other night and decided to follow it up without me. Dumb move, by the way, you big goof! So you get to the dock, think you've hidden your car and therefore yourself and somebody gets the jump on you. You musta seen something important or why else would they shoot ya? Not like you go around tickin' people off and ask to get shot. Well, maybe you do. The tickin' people off bit, not asking them to shoot you!"

Starsky drained his coffee mug and reached for the rest of the cookies.

"Dunno why you ended up in the water. Did they drop you in and hoped you were dead or did you jump in? Whatever, you were damn lucky the tide was goin' the right way or you'd be in China by now." Starsky winced as he recalled the hours out with the Coast Guard.

"So where do our two boys fit into all this?"

Before he could continue the one-sided conversation any further he heard a knock on the door. McFarlane stuck his head around the door.

"Captain Dobey's on the phone for you. Says it's urgent."

Starsky looked across at his partner, who hadn't moved since he'd been drugged into submission.

"Don't go nowhere!"


	21. Chapter 21

**Thankyou again to those who take time to review. I very much appreciate it. I think this story has taken on a life of it's own. It seems it must be Starsky's turn for some … ahh … fun!**

**Chapter Twenty One**

The cleaner moved slowly down the corridor, swinging a large mop back and forth in a regular arc. The bucket was only a few feet ahead of him and it didn't take long to cover the patch he needed to bring him back to the bucket. He dropped the mop in and wrung it out while casually looking down the length of the corridor. Further down he could see the same cop parked on a chair with a newspaper rolled up in his hand. He had finished his coffee and the mug sat on the floor under his chair. He slowly kept swabbing the floor until the young woman with the tea trolley came around the corner. She stopped to talk with the cop as she collected his mug and he edged closer with the mop and bucket.

The cop on guard duty looked up at him sharply. He kept his eyes on the floor, hoping the cop wouldn't look any closer and concentrated on cleaning the day's grime off the tiles. Before the cop could say anything to him a nurse came hurrying over.

"There's a phone call for Detective Starsky from your captain. He says it's urgent."

McFarlane looked at the cleaner one more time and then headed for the door.

The cleaner moved past the group with his mop and bucket and kept going until he was around the corner.

* * *

><p>Captain Dobey clutched the receiver in his hand and anxiously waited. Across the desk from him, Jackson Forbes stared at the floor. Beads of sweat sprang up across his forehead and he absently swiped at them with the back of his hand.<p>

"Come on!" he muttered. "Pick up the phone!" He began to pace back and forth behind his desk. He'd told the nurse to get Starsky but he realised that either officer would have done. Suddenly in the background he could hear loud noises and what sounded suspiciously like gunfire. Finally he could hear somebody yelling something.

Forbes could obviously hear the commotion from his seat as he flinched at the noise.

"Guess ya too late."

"For your sake, you'd better hope we aren't!" Dobey growled at him. The noises on the other end of the phone were increasing and it was clear that nobody was going to come to the phone for him. He slammed it down and simultaneously called out to the officer nearest the door.

"Franklin! Get in here."

"Captain?"

"Get him down to the lockup and don't let him go 'til I get back."

"Sure, but where are you going?"

"To the hospital. And tell them to call me immediately if Starsky or McFarlane calls back. Get onto Dispatch and get the closest couple of units there. We need to warn them."

Franklin watched as Dobey swiped his keys out of the drawer and hurried for the door. He turned towards the snitch sitting slumped in the chair and nodded towards the door.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p><em>The haze of colour grew rapidly to engulf the whole ceiling and Starsky stared at it. It was mesmerizing. He knew he was supposed to be going to talk to Dobey but this crazy shadow had slid under the door somehow while he wasn't looking and now it was taking over the room. It seemed to slide across the room except the only time he could really see it was out of the corner of his eye. If he tried to focus on it then it vanished. <em>

_He needed to get McFarlane to come and help grab it._

"'_Cept maybe he sent it here!" The thought tumbled out before he even knew it. "What?"_

_Starsky stared around the room and noted that more of the shadows were appearing. Except they were really sneaky and kept hiding under things. _

_Like the chairs. _

_And the bed._

"_He's sent a whole army of them in!"_

_Suddenly his mind switched gears and he saw faces out of the corner of his eye. _

_Asian faces. _

_Covered in black streaks._

_They melted into the corners as he frantically swung around in a circle._

"_VC!" he yelled as loudly as he could._

_The door swung open and the enemy tried to advance on his position. But he'd been ordered to hold their ground at all costs. The medivac was coming and they couldn't pull out until the whole platoon was back._

McFarlane had walked back outside, expecting Starsky to come answer the phone. Suddenly he heard Starsky yell and ran towards the door. He could have sworn he'd heard "VC" but that made no sense. Must have been something else. As he opened the door he saw Starsky across the room crouched behind an overturned chair.

"VC! VC!" he yelled again.

"What the hell?"

McFarlane glanced around the room and couldn't see what the problem was. Suddenly a bullet whistled past his ear and he realised Starsky had fired at him. He dived for the floor as another one hit the wall where he'd been standing.

"Starsky! What the hell are you doing? It's me! McFarlane!"

"The choppers are on their way and you're gonna get fried. You can't hide in there forever! We know you're there! The airstrike is coming!"

"Starsky!"

_The trees swayed in the wind and the grass flattened out as it always did when a big Huey was coming in to land. Faces peered out from behind the trees and he raised his rifle to take aim at them. He knew he was low on ammo and he could see that there were far too many for him to take them all down before he ran out. He'd have to be selective. The sound of the chopper was deafening and he couldn't hear anything else over the roar. He turned to the soldier on the makeshift stretcher and patted his arm. Some new kid, only been in-country for a few weeks and already he'd been taken down._

"You're gonna be alright soldier. Transport's here."

McFarlane watched as Starsky patted Hutch's arm, which didn't seem at all irregular but the words he spoke most definitely were. He'd heard the two of them trade all sorts of names and mock insults but never had heard either of them call the other "soldier". He could hear something in the tone of voice and knew that something was definitely wrong.

He started to slide towards the door when Starsky saw him. Without hesitation he raised his gun and fired. McFarlane raced towards the door but wasn't quite quick enough. The bullet hit him in the left arm and he threw himself out the open doorway. As he stumbled into the hallway, one of the hospital cleaners caught him and pulled him away from the door. He realised it was the same one from before and he'd seen him earlier in the night too but right now he had more important things to think about. Like Starsky losing the plot!

"Did I just hear gunfire?"

McFarlane ignored him and ran towards the nurse's station. "Call Security! And I need to speak to Captain Dobey. He was on the phone waiting for Starsky."

The nurse handed him the receiver but all he got was a dial tone. He shoved the phone back at the nurse. "Call Dobey at Metro. Tell him what's happening."

As he turned back around he saw that the cleaner had disappeared.

"Coward!" he muttered under his breath.

_Starsky dropped down beside the wounded soldier on the stretcher._

"_S'OK, we're gonna get you outta here. Fix you up. Good as new!"_

_He glanced across the sky and watched as swarms of helicopters flew overhead. The noise was deafening but he silently cheered them on. He needed to get across the open space to where the Huey had landed but it was open ground and that wasn't going to be easy. He reached out to the kid on the stretcher and noted that he hadn't once opened his eyes, despite all the noise._

"_Guess Charlie got you real good. Don't worry. Just across there is your ticket to a warm bed and a pretty nurse." Starsky motioned towards the Huey and looked down at the kid. That blonde hair sure did make him a target here. He'd be easy to spot anywhere in the jungle. No wonder the sniper got him._

* * *

><p>Dobey hurried toward the nurses' station where he could see McFarlane. A strip of white bandage was tied around his upper arm and blood was already seeping through it. Hospital security guards and several more officers were standing around him, as if waiting for instructions. Starsky was nowhere to be seen and his heart seemed to sink into his stomach.<p>

"What's going on?"

McFarlane looked across at him and sighed. "Seems you were right, Captain. About the dust." He nodded towards the two uniforms standing beside him. "These guys arrived about five minutes too late to tell us and Starsky never got to taking your call in time. "

"Where's Starsky?"

"In there." McFarlane pointed towards the door. "Captain, I think he's hallucinating. He kept calling 'VC' and when I went in there he shot me!"

"What? He did that?" Dobey nodded toward the blood soaked bandage.

"Yep. He told me the choppers were on their way and I was gonna get fried."

Suddenly further shots rang out from the room and they could hear Starsky yelling something.

_The villager kept coming towards him and he hesitated. He knew that the man would try to climb on board the Huey with them but they couldn't take everybody they came across._

"_Get back!"_

"_Let me help you with your friend. I'm a doctor."_

"_Doctor! Sure, like some kinda witchdoctor maybe!"_

_He looked over at the soldier on the stretcher and pulled him towards him. For some reason it was very important that nobody get near him. His captain had told him to get the wounded on the chopper._

"_Stay back! Don't make me shoot ya!"_

_He waved his rifle around menacingly and he watched as the man retreated slightly. A blast of explosive off to his right sent waves of sound rippling through the air and he grabbed at his ears._

_The man, who claimed to be a doctor was slowly advancing towards him with his hand outstretched. Maybe he really was a doctor because only doctors or nurses used syringes. At the last moment he grabbed at the soldier and hauled him off the stretcher. No gook doctor was gonna touch him. Not when US medics were waiting in the Huey. He just needed to get them there. He fired a couple of warning shots and hoped the man got the message._


	22. Chapter 22

**I wasn't entirely happy with the last chapter so I tweaked it a bit and hope it makes more sense now. This has been challenging to write the last couple of chapters and have them flow properly. Thankyou again for your kind comments.**

**Chapter Twenty Two**

_The Huey was only a couple of hundred feet away but it may as well have been miles. The stretch of land between them was littered with bodies. The ground had been mined and half his platoon was lying dead. Body parts lay scattered everywhere. He gagged at the sight but the smell was worse. The stench of death hung in his nostrils and he pulled a hand across his face to try to block it._

_He could hear his sergeant calling his name. Somewhere in the depths of the jungle he knew that more of his platoon were holed up, trying to get to the evac point. He looked down at the soldier he had been charged with getting to the chopper. _

"_C'mon kid. We're gonna get there. You an' me!" _

_Suddenly he caught movement in front of him. The jungle floor seemed to rise up before him and he knew it was VC camouflage. A typical trap was to lay on the ground, disguised as foliage and leap up as the unsuspecting came too close. He raised his rifle as the wannabe doctor came crawling towards his hiding spot. _

"_You're not taking us down!" he yelled._

_A spray of bullets skittered across the jungle floor and into the plants behind. The villager crawling towards him dropped to the ground._

* * *

><p>"Starsky!" Dobey called out from behind the almost closed door. A hail of bullets bounced across the room and he jumped back. He turned back towards McFarlane.<p>

"Any idea how many rounds he's used?"

"Sorry Captain. Haven't exactly been counting."

"Does he have any more clips on him?"

"Well he's always got at least one in his pocket."

"So we have no idea when he's gonna run out of rounds."

"Nope."

"Great. We need to find a way to get in that room sooner rather than later. If he's hallucinating there's no way to predict anything he may do. He already shot you. There's nothing to stop him shooting Hutchinson if he wakes up and startles him."

He looked around at the two uniforms standing slightly behind them. "Do you have any vests with you?"

"Sorry Captain."

"Alright, you," he pointed towards one of them, "get me some vests."

"You," he pointed to the other, "start clearing a perimeter. There's no telling what could happen and I don't want any more casualties."

The two officers hurried to follow the instructions.

He pointed to McFarlane. "You, get me a doctor."

He leaned against the wall and waited. It was quiet inside the room. Almost too quiet. A few minutes later McFarlane arrived back with a doctor in tow.

"Doctor, how long does PCP take to wear off?"

"PCP!"

"Yes! I've got an officer in there that I'm certain has been drugged with PCP. I know the effects it can cause. I think we're witnessing that already. What I need to know is how long before it wears off."

"That really depends on a couple of variables. How much he took and his build."

"I have no idea how much. I don't even know how he ingested it yet. Ballpark it for me."

"Three to four hours at least. Up to eight before it's fully out of his system. Even then he could still have some residual flashbacks."

Dobey scrubbed a hand across his face. "We don't have that long. He's got Hutchinson in there and God knows what he could do."

* * *

><p><em>He leaned down to see if his charge was still breathing. The kid hadn't moved since he had dragged him away from the crazy villager. He looked across towards the Huey and could see a medic signaling to them. The landscape wavered around him and he rubbed a hand across his eyes.<em>

"_Damn heat! Doesn't this place ever cool down?"_

_The soldier stirred slightly in his grasp. "Hurts."_

"_I know. The medics will give you something for the pain as soon as we get across there. Promise."_

"_Where?"_

"_We gotta get you across to the chopper." _

"Starsk?"

"It's OK. We're good. Gonna get you there."

Hutch reached up towards Starsky's face. Something was wrong. "Starsk. Why're we on the floor?"

"Shhh. They can hear us. Gotta stay low."

"What? Starsk … it hurts."

* * *

><p>Dobey pushed the door open a fraction and slid a long handled mirror into the room. He angled it to try to see inside. A few feet away he could see a body lying on the floor. It wasn't one of his men but he had no idea who it was. Judging by the large puddle of blood spreading across the floor he could tell the man was most likely already dead.<p>

He angled the mirror slightly to the left and was dismayed to see that the bed was empty. Before he could do anything about it a bullet ripped across the room and hit the wall. He jumped back and the door swung shut behind him. He quickly moved away from the door as more bullets bounced off the walls inside.

"_Damn VC are tryna signal to somebody. Gotta get across there. Now."_

_He pulled at the soldier by his flak jacket and barely heard him groan. The air was shimmering around him and he swayed as he tried to stand up._

Hutch groaned in pain as his stomach threatened a revolt. For some reason Starsky was trying to drag him across the floor. He could see somebody lying on the floor nearby but he couldn't recall how any of it had come about. Nothing was clear and the only thing he knew for sure was that his body was on fire.

"Starsk! Stop. Please," he moaned.

_The kid had woken up but he could see that he wasn't going to be much help. Shrapnel wounds were especially debilitating because the victim could be bleeding from multiple places at once and they often bled out quickly. He knew he didn't have long to get across to the evac. The medic onboard had stopped calling to him and he guessed they were busy with other casualties._

"_Don't leave without us," he muttered to himself._

Hutch watched as his friend's face seemed to flicker right in front of him into a complete stranger. He certainly wasn't making any sense. He was too tired to do much but he tried to get his attention anyway.

* * *

><p>Dobey pushed his head through the vest and pulled it over his chest. Behind him, McFarlane was already in his.<p>

"Are you sure about this? I'm not going to order you in there."

"Captain, this happened on my watch! I was supposed to be guarding them and somebody still got past me. I'm coming."

Dobey just nodded. There would be plenty of time for blame and mea culpas later but right now he needed to get in there and disarm Starsky before he hurt anybody else. He shuddered to think what would happen if he hurt his partner. He'd never forgive himself.

"Alright, let's go." The plan was simple. So long as it worked.

McFarlane pushed the door open slightly while Dobey pushed a small mirror along the floor. He could make out Starsky off to one side with Hutch sprawled across his lap. Starsky had both arms wrapped protectively around his partner but his gun was only inches from the top of Hutch's head. He had no way to tell if he was even still alive but the captain prayed that they weren't too late.

_They were nearly there when a sniper appeared out of the treeline. He could see the glint of a rifle and he raised his own to take aim. They hadn't made it this far to be taken out so near the chopper._

McFarlane slid through the doorway as Starsky took aim at the window. He hoped the officer trying to draw his fire from outside was clear of the shots but he didn't have time to dwell on it. He was only going to get one chance at this. He moved as quickly as possible across the floor to come up behind Starsky. He only had a moment to register the cleaner lying on the floor in a pool of blood before looking back towards his target. He could worry about the dead once he got the living sorted out.

_He knew he was close to the end of his ammo but he cursed under his breath as it finally gave out_.

"_Didn't think this was how I was gonna go out. Shot up in some godforsaken patch of mud."_

Hutch couldn't see who his partner was shooting at but he trusted him. Somebody had to be after them even if Starsky wasn't making much sense. He just wished he could do something to help. When the clip finally ran out he saw a look of defeat briefly cross his friend's face. He reached down and grabbed Hutch's arm but it was only a moment later that something crashed into them both from behind.

_The sound of a mortar round exploding ripped through the air. He flung himself across the soldier in his arms and tried to protect him from the fallout. He expected debris to come raining down but instead an enemy soldier tackled him._

"_Damn! Where the hell did you spring from?"_

McFarlane latched onto Starsky from behind and tried to pull his arms free. Dobey was right beside him and began to reach for Hutch but Starksy kicked out at him.

"_You're not taking him! Help me!" He flailed around desperately trying to see if any of his platoon was nearby. As he looked back across the marshy ground he could see the Huey lifting off._

"_Stop !We're still here! Don't leave us here! I need a medic! Come back!" He shouted frantically but nobody could hear him over the rotor blades._

_He tried to twist around to get his knife out of his TAC vest but another soldier had appeared and he was pinned to the ground. He could feel them prying away his hands from around the wounded soldier and he fought viciously to hold them off. He was damned if he was going down without a fight._


	23. Chapter 23

**This story is bugging me now. I can't get anything else done until I finish at apparently. Bad luck if my staff want to get paid.**

**Chapter Twenty Three**

Somebody had hit him with a sledgehammer. He was almost certain of that except he had no memory of it happening. He hesitated to open his eyes because he was pretty sure it was going to hurt. Why wouldn't it when everything else hurt? He was lying on something but _that_ hurt too. He felt exhausted. Maybe it was more than a sledgehammer. Maybe an elephant stampede had run him over. He began to raise his hand to shield his eyes and found his hand wouldn't comply.

"What the hell?"

Dobey looked up from the newspaper he was only trying to read as he heard movement. Starsky was finally coming around. He moved over towards the bed quickly and reached out a hand. He pulled it back before he made contact as the doctor had warned them not to touch him. His behaviour would still be unpredictable for a while yet.

He watched as Starsky registered the restraints and he rushed to reassure him.

"It's alright Dave. Don't pull at it. I'll get the doctor."

"Cap'n? What's goin' on? Why am I tied up?"

"It's OK. I'll explain everything but it was for your own protection. So you didn't hurt yourself."

"What! Hurt myse …." He pulled up short as he really looked at Dobey. The captain had a seriously impressive black eye. It was almost swollen shut.

"What happened to you?"

Dobey looked away and didn't answer quickly enough. "We'll talk about that later. Just let me get the doctor first."

Starsky had a sick feeling he had something to do with it and that was why he was restrained. The problem was he had no memory of anything since … since … getting out of the shower. How long ago was that?

He looked down at himself and realised he was in a hospital bed. His wrists and ankles were in restraints and he had no recollection of why. Suddenly something worse came to mind.

"Hutch! Where's Hutch?"

"Easy now. He's fine. He's in the room next door and right now he's asleep."

Starsky tugged at the wrist restraints and began to get agitated again. "I need to see him. What the hell happened?"

"I'm just going to get the doctor and I'll be right back. We'll get these restraints off and I'll answer all your questions. I promise. Just relax."

He slumped back against the pillows as Dobey headed out the door. His mind was racing but all he could pull up was thoughts of helicopters. For some reason the image also brought a sense of dread.

Before long Dobey came back as promised with a doctor. "Starsky, this is Doctor McLennan. He can explain what's happening to you."

"How about you take these things off me first?" he asked hopefully. The idea of being restrained and helpless did not sit well with him.

The doctor nodded at him and smiled reassuringly. "First things first. You were restrained for your own protection. We just need to make sure you are not going to do anything to injure yourself any further."

"Any further? What did I do already?" He struggled to keep the panic out of his voice but he had no idea what they were talking about, although he could feel the ache of bruises all over his body.

"How about you tell me what you remember?"

"Last thing I remember is having a shower. Felt good to be clean again. I went to … I walked back to Hutch's room."

"Anything else?"

"He was asleep. Wouldn't talk to me." The memories were fuzzy but still there. He just couldn't connect the dots between there and here. "How did I get here?"

Dobey leaned forward. "Starsky, do you remember what was wrong with Hutch?"

"Sure. Somebody shot him!" The anger flared again and he pulled at the restraints. "We were tryna find proof to nail them."

The captain nodded. "It's alright. We've got all the proof we need. Do you remember the snitch you followed the other day? Jackson Forbes?"

"The one Huggy told me about? Yeah. Why?"

"It seems he took your threat seriously."

"Huh? I never threatened him. Never even spoke to him. Did I?" Starsky frowned and pulled at the restraint again. He wanted to rub his face but managed to reign himself in. They were never going to let him out if he couldn't keep his cool.

"You told Huggy to tell him you'd hunt him down if he didn't bring any important information to you first. Seems you must have scared him enough because he came in with information. Ferretti and Hanlon were trying to get to Hutch to stop him from telling anybody anything that incriminated them. Their plan was to use Forbes to get to both of you and McFarlane but he went to Huggy instead. Offered information for immunity."

"Immunity? His info musta been good."

"It was. We just didn't get it to you in time to warn you. We've watched all the security footage from the hospital and put the pieces together. Ferretti and Hanlon wanted Forbes to do the job but he disappeared on them so they called in another lackey."

"And you caught him?"

Dobey coughed lightly before he answered. "Well, actually, you caught him."

"I did? Don't remember doin' anything."

The captain turned towards the doctor, who had been watching the exchange. "Do you think we could let him outta these things now? He's back."

"I think so too. Just make sure he isn't left alone for the next twenty-four hours. He could still have some residual effects."

Starsky held his tongue as the two of them began removing the restraints but he was aching to ask for more information. And yet he almost didn't want it either. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what he'd done that had landed him in them in the first place.

Doctor McLennan leaned over and touched his arm. "I'll just get rid of these and I'll be back shortly.

Starsky just nodded at him, thoroughly relieved to be set free and have them taken out of his sight. He looked back towards Dobey hesitantly.

"Captain … what exactly did I do?"

"They were trying to get you and McFarlane out of the way to get to Hutch. But it didn't really go to plan. You were drugged. With PCP."

"Dust! You gotta be kidding me!" Now that the restraints were gone he hauled himself up in bed and leaned against the headboard. "Seriously?"

At least that explained the killer headache! As that thought sunk in he remembered seeing others high on angel dust and suddenly knew why he needed the restraints. His stomach churned at the thought of what he could have done but he needed answers. Everything about his body ached and he knew he'd done some damage along the way. The question was, who to?

"Did I do that to you?" he nodded towards Dobey's swollen eye.

"Not intentionally. You were defending Hutch."

"From _you?_"

"No. You were hallucinating. I can't be sure but I think you were having a flashback of Vietnam."

As the words came out Starsky felt his stomach drop.

Helicopters.

Every time he saw one it was enough to send his mind back. He had spent a long time trying to block the whole sorry saga from his head.

He closed his eyes and tried to stop himself from shaking. Dobey watched and waited. He could see wheels turning but refused to intrude.

Finally Starsky opened his eyes.

"Son, did you ever get left behind with anyone who was wounded?"

The face in front of him suddenly lost all colour and he knew he'd hit the mark. Finally Starsky nodded at him.

"Hennessy." The name was barely a whisper.

Dobey waited to see if he was going to get anything further.

"He was just a kid."

"_And so were you!" _Dobey thought as he looked at his seasoned officer.

"Only been there a coupla weeks. Shrapnel wounds from a landmine. It killed two other guys. We were tryin' to get to the evac point but they pulled out without us. Don't know if it was a breakdown in communication but they missed us."

"What happened?"

"He died. Guess he just ran out of blood but he died. Right there in the jungle. By the time they came back for us it was too late."

The matter-of-fact tone was necessary in a street cop but here in this room Dobey found it unnerving. He knew he wasn't getting the whole picture but it was enough. For now.

Starsky blinked a few times to clear his mind and turned back to Dobey. No need to tell him that by the time the medics came to get Hennessy they had to pry him off the kid. He nearly shot one of the marines before he realised they were Americans.

"So, tell me, how'd I catch this guy they sent after Hutch?"

Dobey smiled at him. Diversion tactics.

"We're still trying to ID him but he was here dressed as a cleaner. He got to the candy-striper as she was on her way to you and McFarlane. We watched the footage and he "accidentally" ran into her trolley. He laced the sugar with the PCP. Lucky for all of us McFarlane doesn't take sugar in his coffee. He's on a health kick."

Starsky nodded grimly. "My usual six!"

"What?"

"Nothin!"

"I had Forbes in my office telling me the plan and I tried to call you but I was too late. This other guy got here first. While McFarlane was trying to get hold of me he slipped into Hutch's room. You must have seen him as a threat because you shot him. Repeatedly."

Starsky just stared at him. There was nothing in his memory that even vaguely came close to that.

"He had a syringe full of ammonia. It wouldn't look out of place for a cleaner to be carrying ammonia on his trolley. If he'd stuck Hutch with that he'd be dead."

"The witchdoctor."

"What?"

"'member a witchdoctor. Waving a syringe around. Don't remember shooting him though."

"There's a lot about this whole thing you may not remember. For now, all you need to know is that Ferretti and Hanlon are in custody and Hutch is gonna be fine."

"Can I see him?" There were times when Starsky acted like a big kid but right now he looked like a frightened child.

"Sure."

A few minutes later Dobey guided Starsky into the room next door. Hutch looked to be asleep but as they entered the room he opened his eyes. It was obvious to Dobey that they were glassy from painkillers but Starsky didn't seem to notice. Or chose not to. He hesitated a few feet away from the bed before slowly walking over.

"Starsk. You're back!"

The words felt like a knife in his guts.

"_Back! Where was I? I hit Dobey, killed a guy that I can't even remember and was "protecting" you."_

"Did I … did I …?" he faltered with the question. Dobey was one thing and killing a guy who was out to kill Hutch; well he could have done that even if he wasn't drugged up. But had he hurt Hutch in the process?

Hutch could see the anguish written all over his friend's face and already knew the cause of it.

"Starsk. You saved my life. End of story!"

"But …"

"No 'but'!"

He pointed towards the chair near the wall. "Why don't you sit down before you fall down?"

"Good idea," Dobey pushed the chair out closer to the bed and leaned a hand on Starsky's shoulder to emphasise the point.

Hutch smiled at him. "Now I believe you owe me a pizza. With _no_ anchovies."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four**

Captain Dobey walked through the door just in time to hear Starsky yelling at someone.

"Don't you two ever get tired of being wrong?" Starsky glared at Simonetti. Across the room he could see Hutch trying to wave him off but he was past caring. If these two hadn't focused so much time and attention on trying to nail his partner, they may have brought down Ferretti and Hanlon sooner. Right now he blamed the whole mess on them. He knew he wasn't being entirely fair but who said he had to be fair? Hutch nearly died. Twice!

"We weren't wrong. Officers in your precinct were bringing drugs into the city."

"You weren't wrong! Are you serious?"

Dobey stepped in front of Starsky and pointed to the other side of the room.

"Sit down!"

"Captain!"

"Starsky, sit down!" The voice was low and calm but the face was crystal clear. Don't argue with me!

Dryden walked over towards him and Starsky visibly bristled. "You know, Detective, if you spent less time trying to cover things up and more time being up-front, this case would have been solved much sooner. With a lot less collateral damage."

"Collateral damage! Did you hear that Hutch? You're just collateral damage!"

Starsky bounced back up and stared at Dryden. "You listen here. My partner is much more than a side note to your interrogation. Oh, sorry! Investigation. And by the way, you owe him an apology."

"For what?"

"For trying to paint him with the same brush as Ferretti and Hanlon. He had nothin' to do with any of this."

"Well given his past history with illegal substances it wasn't too much of a stretch. And based on information we have, there could be grounds to charge _you _with impeding an Internal Affairs investigation."

Starsky slowly and pointedly flexed his fist and Dobey hurried over to stop him doing anything stupid. Again!

Simonetti chimed in. "There are things you haven't disclosed which are pertinent to this case. Of course, if you'd like your records cleared of suspicion you could just tell us the truth. Avoid any possible charges. Unless of course you'd like to work out the rest of your careers with a question mark hanging over your heads?"

Hutch leaned back on the pillows and watched as his partner locked horns again on his behalf with the two IA agents. He was thoroughly tired of this and it was time to make it stop. Starsky was not going down because he had helped his friend through a drug withdrawal.

"You want the truth?" All eyes turned towards him and he could see Starsky glaring at him and slightly shaking his head.

"It's all we've ever been after." Simonetti smirked at him.

"A couple of years ago a man called Ben Forest decided the best way he could get me to tell him where his ex-girlfriend was hiding was to kidnap me and pump me full of heroin. He got me hooked so I would do anything for more and eventually I gave her up."

Simonetti didn't even bother trying to look surprised. "So why was this crime never reported? There's no record of it in your files."

Starsky pushed himself between Simonetti and his monumentally stupid partner. "Because if any of you lot at IA had heard about it you would have kicked him off the force. For being the _victim_ of a crime!"

Simonetti stared back at him. "We have heard enough rumours doing the rounds that Hutchinson may have a drug problem. It's not much of a stretch to think that a drug addict who had access to supply channels wouldn't take advantage of those supply channels. You can't blame us for putting the pieces together incorrectly when you lied to us and covered up things."

"At what point did any of us lie to you?" Dobey spoke quietly but calmly. Starsky turned to look at his captain. He knew that tone of voice. Dobey could shout when he needed to but when he got that quiet, well then whoever he had in his sights was in trouble.

Simonetti pointed towards Hutch. "You were, by your own admission and possibly still are, a drug addict."

"I am _not_ a drug addict. I kicked it cold turkey because my friends cared enough to help me do it. And now I would do anything to stop anybody else having to experience what I did. The truth, Simonetti, is that I went to the dock that night because I saw lights there when I knew there shouldn't be any. Starsky and I had gotten to the point in our investigation where we knew the drugs were coming in by boat. I went to check it out."

"Without your sidekick here?"

"Yeah! Without my _partner. _Dumb move I know but that's how it went down."

Dobey had heard more than enough. He stepped forward and glared at both Simonetti and Dryden. "Hutchinson has told you the truth. Ferretti and Hanlon have confessed and along with several of their goons who are vying with the DA to make deals we have more than enough to bring down a major drug syndicate. The Commissioner is talking about these two rather favourably so unless you'd like to butt heads with _him_, and discuss your possible charges with _him, _I suggest you graciously admit you were wrong, _again_ and _back off!_"

The two agents looked at each and seemed to silently reach an agreement. Dryden pointed at the two of them. "You know, you two bring this sort of thing on yourselves. You operate on a very fine line of legality and wonder why people question if you have crossed it. This time, we'll be filing our reports to say you weren't involved. This time, you got lucky."

Hutch just stared at them and Dobey had a firm grip on Starsky's shoulder as the two men strolled out of the room.

"Lucky?"

"Let it go, Starsk."

"Let it go?"

"Yep. Let it go. Guys like that will never see past their own noses."

"Well I agree with them." Dobey sat down on the end of the bed and dropped his jacket behind him. He could see the looks he was getting from both of them and smiled. "You two should both be dead. And you're not. So yeah, I think we got lucky."

Starsky slumped back into the chair. Every time he knocked heads with IA he came away feeling exhausted. And somehow dirty.

He looked over at his partner and could see the strain of the last half hour was showing on his face. He looked wrecked.

"So Captain, how much have Ferretti and Hanlon given up so far?" He hadn't been allowed anywhere near the interrogation and it was driving him crazy.

"Well, we finally know for sure who shot Hutch. Witnesses and Forensics have confirmed it."

"Which one of them? Give me five minutes in that room with them and I'll …"

"Starsky! I already told you that you aren't a vigilante."

Starsky glared back at him but said nothing.

"Ironically though, I think you got your wish."

"Huh?"

Dobey held out a file towards Hutch. "Recognise him?"

Hutch flipped the file open and came face to face with the man who had cornered him on the dock. He inhaled sharply.

"The syndicate had some hired goons out at the dock that night. Ones that were in the inner circle and were entrusted to the important jobs. Both Ferretti and Hanlon fingered a guy called Mason. Said he's the one who pulled the trigger."

Hutch flipped the page and began to read the extensive list of priors for Jordan Mason. Starsky looked across from beside him.

"So where is he now?"

"In the hospital morgue."

"Somebody silenced him?"

"Not exactly. Jordan Mason is the guy who tried to kill Hutch last night. The cleaner."

Starsky stared back at him. "You've gotta be joking! The one I shot, while tripping out?"

"One and the same."

Starsky climbed up out of the chair and paced across the room.

"Well I can't say I'm sorry. Just wish I could remember doing it." A few flashes from the previous night had come back but for the most part he was relying on what others had told him. He had been especially horrified to learn he had shot McFarlane. The fact it was a graze didn't make him feel any better.

He may have gotten his wish to get Hutch's attacker but it felt strangely empty. As he walked back towards the bed he could see Hutch was fading quickly. Dobey had noticed it too and he stood up and gathered up his jacket.

"I'm heading back to the station to pick up some things. I've got a month of paperwork to do on this one! You need to get some rest. Both of you."

He watched as Starsky dropped back into the chair. "You are coming with me. After I've picked up some files we are going back to my place. To get some real sleep."

"Don't need a babysitter."

Dobey looked over and noted that Hutch had fallen asleep again. "Neither does he. He's not going anywhere."

Starsky looked back up at the Captain as he nodded towards the door but could barely bring himself to speak. He just nodded instead.

"I'm not going anywhere either," he told himself.

"Yes, you are. The doc said you aren't to be left alone for a while yet. Don't know if you will have any more side effects. And besides, Edith is expecting you."

Starsky tried to object but one look at his captain's face told him he wasn't going to get very far. He looked back towards his partner and frowned.

"Guess I'll see you in the morning. I'll bring you a breakfast burrito."

* * *

><p>Hutch leaned against the padded seat in the booth and smiled. He closed his eyes and soaked in the sounds around him. Glasses being stacked at the bar. Somebody making their selection of music on the jukebox. Animated voices coming from across the room as a bunch of drunken college students celebrated something.<p>

The smells drifted past too. Beer and cigarette smoke. Too many colognes and perfumes intermingled. Suddenly something landed on the table in front of him and he opened his eyes. He looked up to see Huggy grinning at him as he plopped three plates of food on the table before sliding into the booth beside him.

It smelled good. He realised that his stomach was growling in anticipation. It was definitely good to be back.

Starsky lifted his beer glass and waved it at him. "Here's to burgers, and beer and to …" His voice wavered slightly before he plastered on a huge smile. "… and to friends who stick around to share them!"

Hutch waved his glass back. "I'll drink to that anytime!"

"Me too!" Huggy laughed.

All three knew how very close they had come and while nobody actually voiced it, somehow it made it all the more important that they were together again.

"So I hear you spoke to your knight in shining armour today. Just guessing, but does that make you the damsel in distress, Goldilocks?" Huggy tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably.

Starsky just smirked at him.

Marjorie Lansing had brought her two daughters in to see them at the station earlier in the day. Nikki looked a lot more healthy than she had the last time he'd seen her.

His mind rolled back to their stilted conversation.

"_Hi," she tried tentatively._

_Hutch saw her uncertainty and smiled at her. In that moment she saw the same man who had held out a much-needed meal to her. A lifetime ago._

"_Hello. So you're the ones I need to thank."_

_Nikki's face crumpled as he spoke and he could see she was holding back tears._

"_I'm so sorry!"_

"_For what?"_

"_For leaving you behind and running off."_

"_You came back. And you brought Starsky with you."_

"_But I … I mean …"_

_Hutch reached out a hand to the kid. "It's OK. Really. Starsky told me why you were out there. I wouldn't blame you for running and not looking back. Especially when you found my badge. But you didn't. You know you saved my life?"_

_He looked over at the girl standing behind her sister and smiled at her too. "Both of you."_

"Hutch?" Huggy elbowed him.

"Huh?"

"I was asking you what's happening with the guy who attacked those girls?'

"He's suspended while being investigated. I don't think he anticipated the girls coming back to testify against him. He's claimed he's innocent but we've uncovered another family he did the same thing to. Only that girl never told anybody until a couple of years later."

"How does a police officer do that? I mean … not that anybody should but … man! How does a cop set out to hurt a kid?" Huggy shook his head.

"How do cops do a lot of things?" Hutch muttered.

"They ain't cops! They're scum _pretending_ to be cops!" Starsky could feel his heart rate increasing. Between IA, this guy Michael and the corrupt cops working in the drug trade he felt thoroughly disgusted and somehow sullied. He looked across the table at his partner and couldn't help but smile.

Goldilocks!

Or Blondie.

Blintz.

Captain Marvel.

It didn't matter what he called him. He was still here. And that was enough.

Starsky slowly raised his glass again. "Here's to the good guys!"

**A/N Thankyou to everybody who has stuck around with me as I worked out this story that would not leave me alone. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thankyou again to everybody who has taken time to leave a review or message me. It's always so very encouraging to hear what readers think. I have no idea if I have another S & H story in me but I have learned never to say never on this site. Maybe I'll see you around again. :-)**


End file.
